What is it with New York and abortion?
The state already leads the nation in efforts to prevent its residents from being born and now there’s a move afoot to allow taxpayers to aid in this deadly abortion-for-all effort.
Under a bill introduced in the state Senate and Assembly by two lawmakers from the Bronx, state taxpayers would be able to contribute to an abortion fund when filing their personal income taxes. The money would then be distributed, through the state Health Department, to one of several organizations that give money to low-income women from New York or other states to have abortions. Planned Parenthood, of course, is one of those organizations.
Taxpayers already can choose to contribute to some 25 funds, most of which raise money for good causes – aid to military families and veterans; cancer research, and volunteer firefighting companies, to name a few.
Should raising money to intentionally end human lives be included on this list?
In 2019, New York State passed the Reproductive Health Act, which eliminated any and all limits on abortion, and even removed protections for children who survive an abortion. New York State’s Catholic-in-name-only governor, Andrew Cuomo, signed the bill surrounded by a cheering crowd and in New York City – which already holds the dubious distinction of aborting more black babies than are born – the Freedom Tower was lit in pink to celebrate.
With much less fanfare, Cuomo last year also signed into law the “Boss Bill,” which requires pro-life employers to hire people who do not share the organization’s beliefs regarding abortion. A legal challenge to the law notes that “these requirements compromise the very reason for being of these organizations, which is to promote life, oppose abortion, and teach and live a sexual ethic consistent with biblical principles.”
A news story on this bill that would allow taxpayer contributions to abortion funds notes that despite the “hundreds of health centers” – that is, abortion businesses – throughout New York State, there remain 39 counties where no children are killed by abortion. And in the minds of these Bronx legislators and their ideological compatriots, that is a very bad thing.
But how many counties are lacking a hospital? Or a pharmacy? Or a grocery store? People who live in rural parts of the state, I have to assume, do not measure their quality of life by their proximity to a killing center. But some lawmakers seem to believe they should.
I am a native New Yorker and a very grateful transplant to Florida, which not only has ample sunshine but also a healthy respect for life. But my heart will always beat for Brooklyn, so I can’t help worrying about those still living in the Empire State, where the government seems primarily interested in making sure fewer and fewer people are born within its borders.
So how’s this for an idea, New Yorkers: How about you tell your state senators and assembly members that you’re done with their deadly agenda and that you expect better from them. Demand instead a bill that allows income tax filers to donate to pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes that help make it possible for mothers to choose life. People who would rather donate to a deadly cause already have plenty of opportunities to do so outside of their income taxes.
New Yorkers contributed more than $2 million to the existing funds in 2018. Imagine how far some of that money would go to ensuring that mothers facing problematic pregnancies would have choices that don’t involve killing their own children.
It’s time to take back New York and this would be a good first step.