Proposed New York abortion, marriage laws called 'radical'

Published: 2007-05-15

ALBANY, N.Y. (CNS) -- The New York State Catholic Conference has sharply attacked Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposals to legalize same-sex marriages and make it illegal to place any restrictions on abortion in the state. The two bills, announced by the governor's office in late April, mark "a very troubling, radical turn for this new administration," said Catholic conference executive director Richard E. Barnes. Spitzer's own press release announcing the proposed abortion legislation quoted leaders of several major abortion-rights organizations in the state, advocating the governor's bill as a necessary response to what they called the "dangerous" recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. Spitzer said his proposed marriage legislation "would create equal legal protection and responsibilities for all individuals who seek to marry" regardless of the gender of the partners. Barnes said, "Marriage is not some political term of art that can be reimagined or redefined according to the whims of the popular culture. ... Its fundamental characteristic is the union of two complementary partners, one male and one female, who come together in mutual love and for the procreation and stable rearing of children."

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