Assembly Member Rebecca A. Seawright (D-Manhattan) announced the Assembly passed a bill that would amend the outdated language of New York state law, affirming the constitutional right to make reproductive decisions that women across the country have had since the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision. The legislation, which is part of the Assembly’s broader agenda to ensure full equality for women, would guarantee a woman’s right to choose and ensure constitutionally protected access to safe, legal abortion (A.6221).

“Women have a constitutional right to make decisions about their own bodies, and that choice must always be protected as provided under Roe v. Wade and subsequent Supreme Court decisions,” Assembly Member Seawright said. “My mentor Sarah Weddington, the attorney who successfully argued the landmark Roe v. Wade case, would be proud to see that the New York State Assembly has passed legislation which, if signed into law, would codify a woman’s right to choose.”