New York legislators cheered and applauded Tuesday night after the state Senate removed restrictions on late-term abortions, allowing unborn babies to be aborted on the day of birth.The Reproductive Health Act passed with a 38-28 vote and was signed into law by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D)."Today we are taking a giant step forward in the hard-fought battle to ensure a woman's right to make her own decisions about her own personal health, including the ability to access an abortion," Gov. Cuomo said.
The law erases New York's previous limitations on abortion which restricted the fatal procedure past 24 weeks.
The Reproductive Health Act states, "every individual who becomes pregnant has the fundamental right to choose to carry the pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child, or to have an abortion."
The law also removes abortion from the definition of homicide and New York's criminal code altogether. Previously, New York law treated the murder of an unborn child in its the third trimester as a felony offense punishable by up to seven years in prison.
The Reproductive Health Act changes that. Instead, abortion will be regulated under public health law and a variety of medical professionals, not just licensed physicians, will be allowed to perform abortions without penalty.
Governor Cuomo had the Freedom Tower lit up in pink to "celebrate."
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