For nearly two years, a Texas man named Marcus Silva has been suing his ex-wife’s friends for helping her get an abortion. Earlier this month, Silva finally dropped his wrongful death and conspiracy claims. The friends responded by pointing out that he had known about the abortion before it happened but took no action. Instead, with a potential divorce looming, he threatened to use evidence of the abortion against his wife “if she refused to stay under his control.” The case is just one example of how reproductive rights can become entangled in the dynamics of coercion and control within intimate relationships.
Restrictions on reproductive healthcare are highly dangerous. Recently, such laws have been linked to the tragic deaths of two women in Georgia – Amber Nicole Thurman and Candi Miller – as well as to the near-deaths of countless women around the country. Amber Nicole Thurman died from septic shock after being denied treatment for 20 hours following a rare pregnancy complication. Georgia’s restrictive laws also made Candi Miller too afraid to seek medical care after self-managing her medically necessary abortion. These devastating outcomes are not isolated incidents. Between 2006 and 2022, Pregnancy Justice documented nearly 1,400 cases of pregnancy-related criminalization across the U.S. The report found state actors —police, prosecutors, healthcare workers, family regulation workers, and judges — have deprived pregnant women of virtually every constitutional right in the name of protecting “unborn life.”
New York currently serves as a refuge for people from other states in desperate need of reproductive healthcare. But our status as a “haven state” is by no means guaranteed in the future. Political winds can– and do – change. New Yorkers – including domestic violence survivors – deserve to have these critical protections enshrined in the state’s constitution.
As we approach Election Day, I encourage all New Yorkers to familiarize themselves with Proposition 1, also known as Prop 1 or the New York State Equal Rights Amendment. Prop 1 will amend New York’s constitution to protect New Yorkers against government discrimination based on a person’s ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, including their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.
Importantly, Prop 1 will protect an individual’s autonomy to make choices about their own life, free from the threat of criminalization or penalties. For victims of domestic violence, Prop 1 protections would ensure reproductive healthcare remains accessible — including abortions, birth control, and Plan B — whether after sexual assault, during physical abuse in pregnancy, or when trying to escape an abusive relationship.
Access to reproductive healthcare empowers survivors of gender-based violence to make choices that prioritize their safety. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, one in six women in abusive relationships in the United States are first abused during pregnancy. In abusive relationships, pregnancy can be a death sentence – homicide is the leading cause of death for pregnant women in the United States. A forced pregnancy can tether a victim to their abuser, both financially and legally. At Sanctuary for Families, we see every day how sharing a child gives abusers countless ways to continue coercing and controlling survivors, even after the survivor has escaped the relationship. As Marcus Silva’s lawsuit in Texas demonstrates, the absence of legal protections allows abusers to weaponize the courts to threaten and control victims simply for accessing reproductive healthcare. For victims of domestic violence, the cruelty of abortion bans and restrictions on reproductive healthcare access is undeniable.
Prop 1 will protect New Yorkers and anyone subject to its laws from efforts to penalize and control people for their reproductive choices and pregnancy outcomes, including abortions and miscarriage. We cannot afford to take our rights for granted while so many of our fellow Americans are being stripped of theirs. Please be sure to flip your ballot and vote ‘Yes’ on Prop 1.
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Judy Harris Kluger is a former New York State judge and the current CEO of Sanctuary for Families, New York’s leading advocate and service provider for survivors of gender violence.