New York Equal Rights Amendment

An Amendment to Guarantee
Protections for All New Yorkers

Right now, New York’s State Constitution does not protect all New Yorkers — for example, pregnant New Yorkers, women, LGBTQIA+ people, those with disabilities, older adults, and people from different countries and cultures.

The New York State Equal Rights Amendment is a proposed amendment to New York’s State Constitution that would add to the existing constitutional protections for race and religion, and create explicit protections for people who experience discrimination.

The NY ERA would:

explicitly prohibit discrimination by the government based on a person’s ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex — including their sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression — in addition to pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes.

It would also protect against any government actions that would curtail a person’s reproductive autonomy or their access to reproductive health care. For example, the ERA would prevent the State from:

implementing a state abortion ban
stopping state funding for abortion via Medicaid
banning private insurance coverage of abortion
prosecuting or criminalizing miscarriage
adding medically unnecessary burdens on patients or facilities

New Yorkers will have the opportunity to vote on the Amendment in November, 2024.

If voters approve it, the ERA will be added to New York’s State Constitution.