Democrats Split On Whether To Push Abortion Referendum Ahead Of November
Proponents say ‘up or down vote on Roe v. Wade’ could mobilize independents, divide GOP
Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:24:00
From the budget to the MTA bailout, suburban Democratic senators have taken one tough vote after another over the past year.
In an effort that would give their Senate Democratic allies stronger talking points going into the November elections, pro-choice advocates are now pushing a sweeping piece of legislation that could drive a wedge in the Republican conference while shoring up support for these embattled suburban Democrats.
The New York Reproductive Health Act would move the state’s abortion law, passed in 1970 (three years before Roe v. Wade) from the penal code to the health code.
Abortions are illegal under state law in New York after the 24-week mark except in cases when a woman’s life is in danger. This has created fears among providers that they could be criminally prosecuted for providing an abortion if questions arise about the true threat to a woman’s life. By having abortions classified under the health code, the penalties for performing them after 24 weeks would be significantly less severe.
The Reproductive Health Act would also lift restrictions on abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy if a woman’s health—rather than only her life—is deemed at risk or if a fetus is found to have a fatal genetic anomaly.
Sabrina Shulman, political director for NARAL Pro-Choice New York, said the bill, sponsored by State Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, should be viewed as a referendum on lawmakers’ fundamental views of abortion rights.
“This would really force them for the first time to take an up-or-down vote on Roe v. Wade,” Shulman said.
Doug Forand, who ran many of the races for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2008, said a vote on the bill this year could also shore up support for potentially marginal Democratic senators such as Craig Johnson and Stewart-Cousins.
Voting against the bill, meanwhile, could hurt marginal Republicans in districts with a number of pro-choice swing voters, including State Sens. Owen Johnson, Kemp Hannon and Joe Robach, Forand said.
“This would be most critical in suburban regions, both upstate and downstate,” he said. “This issue is important among those swing voters who tend to be more fiscally conservative but more socially liberal.”
But a vote on the legislation this year remains in limbo, with Senate Democrats currently engaged in heated discussions over their strategy this session.
Stewart-Cousins, who has been pushing this issue for years, does not want to harm the legislation’s long-term chances if the votes to pass it are not there, according to a Senate Democratic source briefed on the discussions. If the bill goes down because of election-year politics, she and other proponents fear this could derail its future momentum.
Others, such as Johnson, want to see a vote on the bill this session regardless, since this would help drum up support among the Democratic base, according to the Senate source. Those in this camp fear a repeat of the 2009 elections, when Republicans turned out in much higher numbers in Nassau and Westchester counties than Democrats.
Stewart-Cousins and Johnson did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The situation mirrors in some respects the same-sex marriage debate last year. Then, some Democrats hoped to bring the bill to the floor in order to rally a key Democratic constituency, even as some gay marriage advocates feared that the bill did not have enough support in the Senate and that rushing a vote would delay hopes for eventual passage. However, pro-choice issues poll far better than same-sex marriage issues. In early February, Global Strategy Group conducted a poll for NARAL that showed 72 percent of New Yorkers favoring the legislation.
Regina Calcaterra, who is running against State Sen. Ken LaValle and has already received the earliest endorsement in NARAL New York’s history, is pushing for a vote. She noted that LaValle abstained from voting on a bill last year that would have increased penalties for acts of physical violence against abortion clinic workers.
“It’s important that voters know exactly where he stands,” Calcaterra said.
According to Shulman, there are four Democrats unlikely to vote for the legislation: State Sens. Darrel Aubertine, George Onorato, Bill Stachowski and Ruben Diaz, Sr.
Meanwhile, Shulman said four or five Republicans had privately promised that they would vote for the bill before the Senate coup last June, though she declined to disclose their identities.
But any Republican who voted for the bill would risk losing the support and ballot line of the Conservative Party, which demonstrated the vengeance they could carry out on socially liberal Republicans last year in the special election to replace Rep. John McHugh.
Conservative chair Mike Long said that although his was not a single-issue party, it would be difficult to support a candidate who voted for strong pro-choice legislation.
He portrayed potential Democratic efforts to drive a wedge through the Republican conference as cynical, especially with all the more pressing economic issues facing the state.
“Women have all the rights they need in New York,” Long said. “They run the risk of the public understanding that this is a political game.”
Some pro-life Democrats agree, saying that if Democrats do decide to take up a vote on the legislation this year, they are misreading the political winds, given all the recent Republican victories across the nation.
“This is a tragedy. Who is advising the Democratic Party?” Diaz, Sr. said. “If they vote on this issue this year, they are putting the final nail in the coffin of the marginal Democrats.”
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ABOVE: During their tight 2008 State Senate battle, Queens Council Member Jim Gennaro frequently made an issue of Sen. Frank Padavan’s record on abortion rights.
In an effort that would give their Senate Democratic allies stronger talking points going into the November elections, pro-choice advocates are now pushing a sweeping piece of legislation that could drive a wedge in the Republican conference while shoring up support for these embattled suburban Democrats.
The New York Reproductive Health Act would move the state’s abortion law, passed in 1970 (three years before Roe v. Wade) from the penal code to the health code.
Abortions are illegal under state law in New York after the 24-week mark except in cases when a woman’s life is in danger. This has created fears among providers that they could be criminally prosecuted for providing an abortion if questions arise about the true threat to a woman’s life. By having abortions classified under the health code, the penalties for performing them after 24 weeks would be significantly less severe.
The Reproductive Health Act would also lift restrictions on abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy if a woman’s health—rather than only her life—is deemed at risk or if a fetus is found to have a fatal genetic anomaly.
Sabrina Shulman, political director for NARAL Pro-Choice New York, said the bill, sponsored by State Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, should be viewed as a referendum on lawmakers’ fundamental views of abortion rights.
“This would really force them for the first time to take an up-or-down vote on Roe v. Wade,” Shulman said.
Doug Forand, who ran many of the races for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2008, said a vote on the bill this year could also shore up support for potentially marginal Democratic senators such as Craig Johnson and Stewart-Cousins.
Voting against the bill, meanwhile, could hurt marginal Republicans in districts with a number of pro-choice swing voters, including State Sens. Owen Johnson, Kemp Hannon and Joe Robach, Forand said.
“This would be most critical in suburban regions, both upstate and downstate,” he said. “This issue is important among those swing voters who tend to be more fiscally conservative but more socially liberal.”
But a vote on the legislation this year remains in limbo, with Senate Democrats currently engaged in heated discussions over their strategy this session.
Stewart-Cousins, who has been pushing this issue for years, does not want to harm the legislation’s long-term chances if the votes to pass it are not there, according to a Senate Democratic source briefed on the discussions. If the bill goes down because of election-year politics, she and other proponents fear this could derail its future momentum.
Others, such as Johnson, want to see a vote on the bill this session regardless, since this would help drum up support among the Democratic base, according to the Senate source. Those in this camp fear a repeat of the 2009 elections, when Republicans turned out in much higher numbers in Nassau and Westchester counties than Democrats.
Stewart-Cousins and Johnson did not return phone calls seeking comment.
The situation mirrors in some respects the same-sex marriage debate last year. Then, some Democrats hoped to bring the bill to the floor in order to rally a key Democratic constituency, even as some gay marriage advocates feared that the bill did not have enough support in the Senate and that rushing a vote would delay hopes for eventual passage. However, pro-choice issues poll far better than same-sex marriage issues. In early February, Global Strategy Group conducted a poll for NARAL that showed 72 percent of New Yorkers favoring the legislation.
Regina Calcaterra, who is running against State Sen. Ken LaValle and has already received the earliest endorsement in NARAL New York’s history, is pushing for a vote. She noted that LaValle abstained from voting on a bill last year that would have increased penalties for acts of physical violence against abortion clinic workers.
“It’s important that voters know exactly where he stands,” Calcaterra said.
According to Shulman, there are four Democrats unlikely to vote for the legislation: State Sens. Darrel Aubertine, George Onorato, Bill Stachowski and Ruben Diaz, Sr.
Meanwhile, Shulman said four or five Republicans had privately promised that they would vote for the bill before the Senate coup last June, though she declined to disclose their identities.
But any Republican who voted for the bill would risk losing the support and ballot line of the Conservative Party, which demonstrated the vengeance they could carry out on socially liberal Republicans last year in the special election to replace Rep. John McHugh.
Conservative chair Mike Long said that although his was not a single-issue party, it would be difficult to support a candidate who voted for strong pro-choice legislation.
He portrayed potential Democratic efforts to drive a wedge through the Republican conference as cynical, especially with all the more pressing economic issues facing the state.
“Women have all the rights they need in New York,” Long said. “They run the risk of the public understanding that this is a political game.”
Some pro-life Democrats agree, saying that if Democrats do decide to take up a vote on the legislation this year, they are misreading the political winds, given all the recent Republican victories across the nation.
“This is a tragedy. Who is advising the Democratic Party?” Diaz, Sr. said. “If they vote on this issue this year, they are putting the final nail in the coffin of the marginal Democrats.”
--
ABOVE: During their tight 2008 State Senate battle, Queens Council Member Jim Gennaro frequently made an issue of Sen. Frank Padavan’s record on abortion rights.
