New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, is trying to pass a bill giving women the right to have late-term abortions in pregnancies that pose a risk for the mother, or in cases where the fetus is not considered viable.
Current New York law only gives women access to late-term abortions — those that take place after 24 weeks of pregnancy — in cases that threaten the mother’s life, according to a report in Newsmax.
Under Mr. Cuomo’s provision, doctors aren’t the only ones who could perform the late-term procedure. Licensed health-care practitioners could, too, according to Newsmax.
Its chances for passage are unclear.
Republican Assemblyman Dean Skelos said the new law is not needed because abortion is already legal, and late-term abortion is “just wrong,” he said, according to Newsmax.
“You could have an abortion up until the day the child would be born, and that’s just wrong,” he said, according to Newsmax.
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Cuomo, who has pushed through liberal touchstones such as gay marriage and sweeping gun control measures, is widely considered by Albany-watchers to be eyeing a 2016 run for the White House.
He’s largely enjoyed sky-high approval ratings since taking the reins of the Empire State following the scandal-scorched tenures of Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson, both fellow Democrats.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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