NEW YORK-  Based on the New York State Board of Elections reporting and the Associated Press press results, the state Proposal One, which will amend the NYS constitution with an updated Equal Rights Amendment, is passing. 

As of 10:21 PM on November 5, NYS has 45% of votes counted with 68.2% voting 'Yes' and 31.8% voting 'No' on the proposal. 

Currently, as of November 7, 10:17  AM, the party majority of the United States House of Representatives has not been determined. President-Elect Trump has discussed implementing a national abortion ban. If the house majority is Republican such a ban may pass.  The passing of Proposal One enshrining protections for pregnancy, reproductive healthcare, and autonomy in the NYS constitution would not protect New Yorker's right to abortion if a national abortion ban was to pass.

Proposal One amends the New York State Constitution’s existing Equal Protection clause, from 1938, which specifies protection against unequal treatment based on “race, color, creed, or religion,” to include new constitutional protection including, "ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy. It also protects against unequal treatment based on reproductive healthcare and autonomy."

Liz Krueger, the Democratic representative for New York State’s 28th Senate district, first introduced the proposal, a statewide version of the “Equal Rights Amendment” (ERA).

Krueger says with the overturning of Roe V. Wade and “at a time when many state governments seek to eliminate certain fundamental rights, such as the right to an abortion or the right to marry whomever we choose,” the constitutional amendment is needed to “...ensure that the rights of all are enshrined in New York.” 

Read more about what the proposal will do here