On the heels of having passed the 2021 New York State budget, Amanda Babine, Executive Director of Equality New York, has outlined the following issues that affect the LGBTQI community:
Wins:
We celebrate a big win for family building! Thanks to the leadership of Governor Cuomo, Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblymember Amy Paulin the Child-Parent Security Act (CPSA) was included and will bring New York’s family formation laws into the 21st century.
This bill legalizes gestational surrogacy agreements and eliminates intrusive and expensive requirements for second-parent adoptions for families who conceive with a known or anonymous sperm donor. This bill provides protections that go above and beyond protections found in the law of any other state, including a “Surrogate’s Bill of Rights” that provides for health insurance, life insurance, an independent lawyer, and an absolute right to autonomy in health care decision making for the surrogate.
Set Backs:
Billions in Medicaid cuts, which will affect life saving care the LGBTQI community relies on;
Rolling back bail reform which will allow judges to set bail that will lead to more LGBTQI community members being incarcerated (pre-trial);
Outside of the Child-Parent Security Act, no other LGBTQI-specific bill was included.
It is important to remember, that the fight it not over. We have the rest of the 2020 session to work with leadership in the Assembly and State Senate to push through additional policies and protections.
A New York State LGBTQI Virtual Day of Action is planned for May 7, 2020. You can learn more about at the Equality New York website.
Photo of Rainbow flag courtesy Wikimedia user Ludovic Bertron.
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