Abortion Remains Hot Button Issue in Putnam
The debate over abortion rights raged on in Putnam County last week as county lawmakers put in motion a resolution calling on New York State to repeal the Reproductive Health Act.
During a marathon health committee meeting on March 18, county lawmakers moved a resolution forward to the full legislature meeting next month in which the county would call on the repeal of new state abortion laws put in place earlier this year.
The RHA states an abortion is legal within the first 24 weeks of the start of a pregnancy or anytime after that if a woman’s life or health is at risk or if the fetus isn’t viable. Abortions could also now be done by other healthcare professionals, not just physicians.
The state Legislature, voting along party lines, approved the RHA this January and Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed it into law shortly thereafter, leading to outrage among many conservatives across the state and country.
The county resolution called on the state to “protect the unborn” and criticized the RHA for expanding abortion rights past 24 weeks of a pregnancy that could lead to the “pain and suffering” of the baby in the womb. It criticized the RHA for allowing non-physicians to perform abortions, which the resolution stated could lead to “abuse” and also argued a late term abortion could be performed to protect the health of the mother, but the patient’s “health” is vague and undefined in the law.
Most county lawmakers at the meeting bashed the law, calling it far more extreme than when Roe V. Wade was implemented following an historic Supreme Court case from the 1970s.
Legislator Ginny Nacerino offered some of the most stinging words against the RHA. She called it a travesty that Cuomo (a practicing Catholic, she noted) would sign this bill into law because of its disregard for human life.
She believes most county residents are against the newly implemented RHA.
“I cannot recall any act so morally and ethical abhorrent,” Nacerino said of the RHA.
The county resolution comes on the heels of the Carmel town board voting unanimously to advocate for the repeal the RHA earlier this month. No other town or village board has come forward with a similar resolution.
Linda Cochrane, a nurse who is the CEO of three pregnancy centers in Connecticut, appeared in front of the legislature to advocate against the RHA. Because of the new state law, Cochrane fears there will be an increase in the number of abortions for healthy and viable babies. The RHA gives more rights to the parents rather to the unborn child, Cochrane claimed.
Another speaker against the RHA was Pastor Andrew Columbia of the Mount Carmel Baptist Church. He said the decision to have an abortion could leave many women with psychological trauma that would require long-term counseling.
“I’m not here to debate politics with you,” Columbia said. “I’m here to tell you there are repercussions when things are done that affect people’s lives and God is in the business of giving life.”
Legislator Carl Albano said he supported every line of the resolution because it “truly reflects what I believe.” Legislator Amy Sayegh said no one is talking about throwing out Roe V. Wade, but she has a problem with the current state law that pushes it further.
“We have fundamental differences,” Sayegh said of the schism between pro- life and pro-choice residents.
Legislator Toni Addonizio said scientific advances have shown a heartbeat can begin as early as four and a half weeks in the mother’s womb with many people believing an abortion should not stop a beating heart.
Legislator Nancy Montgomery, the sole Democrat on the board, was the only lawmaker that spoke out against sending the resolution to the state. She pointed out the resolution was flawed in several different sections with inaccuracies and called it embarrassing to send a resolution up to Albany that lacks facts.
The point of passing the RHA was to codify Roe V. Wade and ensure women had access to safe abortions, Montgomery said, noting less than 10 percent of women get an abortion after 14 weeks and the reasons at that stage in a pregnancy are not frivolous as some of opponents of the RHA have claimed.
Residents packed the meeting on the third floor of the county office building and were hotly divided on the issue and the county’s role in pushing for a repeal of the law. Some lawmakers and pro-choice residents clashed as well with the meeting devolving into a screaming match at times.
Cold Spring resident Kathleen Foley asked lawmakers why they didn’t invite experts that are in support of the RHA to speak, to which Addonizio replied as health chair she gets to decide who will appear at the meeting.
“You’re not at church, you’re in your public job and you have a constitutional obligation to separate your personal faith beliefs and your legislation,” Foley told lawmakers. “Don’t say you’re doing this it in the name of Putnam County, you’re not doing it in my name.”
Mahopac resident Marsha Waldman, who is in support of the RHA, said the law has not changed the care of a born baby, with Nacerino, Addonizio and even legislative counsel Robert Firriolo pushing back against that assertion. Waldman also said by allowing more healthcare professionals like midwives and nurse practitioners to perform the procedure, it will allow for safer access to abortions at the earlier stages of a pregnancy.
Other residents criticized lawmakers supporting the county’s resolution, arguing they were wasting their time with this symbolic measure and not focusing on important issues in the county.
“If you’re dissatisfied, that’s when your vote counts,” Nacerino told those people bothered by the legislature’s proposal.
