New York doctors make final vote for Prop 1 ballot measure to strengthen abortion rights

A group of New York doctors is making a last-minute attempt to win voters over Proposition 1, a ballot measure that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

A letter released Monday with more than 150 signatures from health care providers of all specialties argues that Prop 1 is critical to protecting access to reproductive health care in New York while other states have unifying abortion restrictions and bans have made it difficult for pregnant patients to receive medical services – even if they are not seeking an abortion.

The measure would also ban discrimination based on a range of new characteristics such as gender identity, sexual orientation, age and national origin.

““The bottom line is that the full range of sexual and reproductive health decisions must be made between patients and their doctors – without government interference,” the letter said. “Prop 1 prevents New York politicians from interfering in the patient-provider relationship.”

The letter goes on to say that since the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022, which eliminated the constitutional right to abortion nationally, “many of our colleagues across the country will have to make impossible decisions” regarding patient care.

Some of the doctors who signed the letter in support of Prop 1, also known as the Equal Rights Amendment, say they have seen firsthand the dangers of restrictions in other states.

Dr. Linda Prine is a family doctor in New York who also prescribes abortion pills to patients in other states through the group Aid Access.

She said most people are able to take the medication without the need for in-person follow-up care. However, she said there are some cases where people need medical attention and are either afraid to seek it or are turned away due to restrictions in their states.

“This is just the most nerve-wracking thing for people,” Prine said.

Some opponents of Prop 1 believe it is unnecessary because abortion rights are not really at risk in New York given the Democratic majority in the legislature. Abortion was illegal in New York even before the Roe v. Wade legalized in 1973, and the state has sought to strengthen access to abortion through additional legislation since the Supreme Court overturned the ruling.

But those who support the amendment say they don't want to take any chances in a more volatile political climate.

“We cannot risk having to live the way people have to live in Texas or the way people have to live in Louisiana or Alabama,” Prine said.

Prop 1 would prevent state legislatures from repealing abortion rights without going through the multiyear process of amending the state constitution again, said Katharine Bodde, interim co-director of policy at the New York Civil Liberties Union, which supports the Equal Rights Amendment has used.

The latest letter from health care providers seeks to put reproductive rights front and center in the Prop 1 debate as opponents step up their efforts to derail the ballot measure, portraying it as a sneaky attempt by the left to advance a much broader agenda .

A TV attack ad from the Vote NO on Prop One Committee warns that the measure will create “special rights for illegal immigrants.”

Meanwhile, opponents of the Coalition to Protect Kids NY have focused on Prop 1's language protecting “gender identity” and “gender expression,” arguing that the measure could make it easier for minors to take steps to transition into a different gender , without parental consent.

The New York Bar Association has published a guide on what the change will and will not do. It states that “parental rights” and federal and state immigration laws will not be affected.

The main goal of the amendment is to strengthen existing federal and state laws, said Bodde.

Dr. Chelsea Faso, a physician at the Institute of Family Health in New York City and chair of the Advocacy Commission of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians, said signing the letter in support of Prop 1 is all about protecting her ability to do so Job.

“It really violates our medical ethics when we are unable to practice in the best interests of our patients,” Faso said.

Prop 1 is one of six measures that will appear on New Yorkers' ballots in the election.