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Assembly representatives of St. Lawrence County at odds on Women's Equality Act

Posted 1/18/15

Three of St. Lawrence County’s state Assembly members are at odds over the issue of the recent passage of eight Women’s Equality Act bills in the state Senate. Assemblywoman Janet Duprey (R, I …

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Assembly representatives of St. Lawrence County at odds on Women's Equality Act

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Three of St. Lawrence County’s state Assembly members are at odds over the issue of the recent passage of eight Women’s Equality Act bills in the state Senate.

Assemblywoman Janet Duprey (R, I – Peru) renewed her support for the complete proposal – which includes codification of Roe v Wade in the state and ensures safe health care for women across the state.

But Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush (R,C,I-Black River) and his Republican colleagues have urged the speaker of the Democrat-dominated Assembly to also allow individual women’s equality bills to be brought to the floor for a vote, although Blankenbush expressed no support for the kind of measure that Duprey wants passed in addition to the eight bills from the Senate.

And Assemblyman Marc W. Butler (R,C-Newport) joined other Republican Assembly members at a press conference calling on the Democratic leader of the Assembly to adopt the Republican-controlled Senate’s way of asserting its support for women’s issues without addressing abortion.

Butler represents 118th Assembly District, which includes the St. Lawrence County towns of Madrid, Norfolk, Stockholm, Parishville, Pierrepont, Clare, Colton, Clifton and Fine, plus Hamilton, Herkimer and Fulton counties plus part of Oneida County.

Duprey represents the 115th Assembly District, including townships along the eastern side of St. Lawrence County, plus all of Franklin and Clinton counties.

Blankenbush’s 117th District includes the towns of DeKalb, Gouverneur, Hermon, Russell, Edwards, Fowler and Pitcairn in St. Lawrence County plus Lewis County and parts of Jefferson and Oneida counties.

The Senate approved of each of eight Women’s Equality Act bills separately, but none addressed the question of the availability of abortion in New York law.

“A woman’s right to choose does not mean I am pro-abortion, but I believe very firmly that women today – and in the future – should have the right to choose what happens to their own body,” said Duprey, who has been a strong supporter of the act for many years. “Passing the Women’s Equality Act as a complete omnibus package was never about holding up eight other very important and very necessary bills; it was about trying to encourage lawmakers in both houses to consider the issue of women’s healthcare as it is, and as it is needed, in today’s world. While I would support the bills individually, I believe it is a failure that the State Legislature appears unable to address the modern and necessary topics in women’s healthcare.”

For the third year in a row, the Senate has voted on each point separately. Despite the speaker’s reluctance to address the matter, the legislature was able to pass part of the package which addressed restraining orders. To many legislators, this proves there is no reason that action cannot be taken on the points individually.

“The speaker must stop politicizing women’s equality and allow for each point to come to the floor for a vote, as the Senate did,” said Blankenbush. “Forcing all points into one ominous bill means that real reform for women will again be delayed. In the end, I want to make sure that we deliver solutions to help end the discrimination, harassment and abuse of New York’s women.”

“It is disheartening that because of one man’s personal political agenda an entire slate of important women’s equality legislation will fail to become law,” said Butler after the Senate approved eight of the 10 bills the Assembly leader wishes to tackle in one package that includes a couple of provisions to codify the Rowe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision on abortion rights in New York law.

“The Women’s Equality Act has been politicized to the extreme by some on both sides, and I am working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to have the bills clarified so they clearly state their intended purpose: to ensure women have safe and legal healthcare options – options, not mandates,” said Duprey. “As we continue to debate the act behind the scenes, I will continue working on behalf of every woman in New York State to ensure they have access to safe, legal, and modern healthcare,” she said.

Blankenbush points out that Democrat Assembly members have expressed interest in moving the legislation forward, as exampled by one assemblywoman’s bill and her push to address human trafficking. The bill is one of the points of the Women’s Equality agenda and has broad bi-partisan support.

Duprey is more interested in passing the entire package of reforms including codifying New York law regarding abortion.

If enacted, she said, the entire Women’s Equality Act would strengthen federal mandates requiring equal pay for equal work; prohibit sexual harassment in the workplace; curb discrimination for victims of domestic violence; end discrimination based on familial status; prohibit housing discrimination for victims of domestic violence; improve process for obtaining orders of protection; stop human trafficking; increase workplace protections for women during pregnancy and with other post-pregnancy conditions; codify in New York State law the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v Wade; and create safeguards for women seeking abortion as well as legal protection for doctors who choose to perform them.