Hochul under pressure to veto gender-neutral bill<\/p>\n
The New York State Legislature has passed a bill that would replace gendered terms such as “mother” and “father” with neutral terms across state law. The bill, which has been criticized by Republicans for erasing traditional families and distracting from issues such as public safety and taxes, would take effect on November 1 if signed by Governor Kathy Hochul. The legislation is part of a culture war over gender identity in New York, with Republicans consistently rallying against “inclusive” mandates. Advocates of the bill argue that it prioritizes parental conduct and the relationship exhibited in the recognition and care for children.<\/p>\n
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) \u2014 At the end of the legislative session in June, the Democratically-controlled New York State Legislature passed a bill\u2014 S9316<\/a>\/A8382A<\/a>\u2014that would replace gendered words like \u201cmother\u201d and \u201cfather\u201d across state law with neutral terms. Governor Kathy Hochul hasn\u2019t yet called up the bill for consideration, but Republicans want a veto in time for Father\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n \t The bill changes \u201cpaternity\u201d and \u201cfiliation\u201d to \u201cparentage\u201d; \u201cmother\u201d to \u201cgestating parent\u201d; and \u201cfather\u201d to \u201cnon-gestating parent.\u201d Ninety-one Assemblymembers voted in favor of the bill on March 19, while 46 voted against. In the Senate, 38 voted aye on June 2, and 23 voted nay. If Hochul signs the bill, it would take effect on November 1, updating the Family Court Act, the Domestic Relations Law, the Civil Practice Law and Rules, the Executive Law, the Judiciary Law, the Social Services Law, the General Obligations Law, the Vehicle and Traffic Law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, and the Education Law.<\/p>\n Criticizing the legislation for erasing traditional families and distracting from issues like public safety and taxes, Republican State Senators Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Bill Weber, and Alexis Weik wrote an open letter to Hochul on Friday, which you can read at the bottom of this story. In it, they said mothers and fathers are more than just gestators or non-gestators.<\/p>\n \t \u201cOnly a woman can become pregnant and give birth,\u201d Weik said, calling the new terminology dehumanizing.<\/p>\n And \u201cThis should never have been a legislative priority when families are struggling with real issues that actually matter,\u201d according to Weber.<\/p>\n State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt echoed those concerns on June 2, calling the bill an out-of-touch distraction. New Yorkers \u201cjust want a fix to the sky-high utility bills and rampant public safety issues in their communities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the latest front in the culture war over gender identity in New York. After the passage of Proposition 1 in 2024\u2014which enshrined gender identity and expression protections into the state constitution\u2014the State Senate minority has consistently rallied against \u201cinclusive\u201d mandates. In 2025, they joined Bruce Blakeman\u2014the Republican Nassau County Executive running to unseat the governor\u2014to push legislation that would ban transgender athletes from school sports<\/a> and delay rules letting people use bathrooms that match their preferred gender<\/a>.<\/p>\n For his part, in a campaign email on June 16, Blakeman said, \u201cHochul\u2019s New York is focused on erasing moms and dads from the law books.\u201d He said that New Yorkers are fleeing to escape the local economy, pledged to cut taxes if elected, and asked for campaign contributions.<\/p>\n \t Similarly, in a fundraising newsletter on Thursday, the Reverend Jim Harden\u2014CEO of the anti-abortion group CompassCare, which operates medical pregnancy centers\u2014also called out the bill. He argued that calling fathers non-gestating parents is a downgrade, that Father\u2019s Day will always be a hollow sentimentality unless society learns to embrace Biblical fatherhood.<\/p>\n \u201cNot a sane woman alive would consider abortion if she had the support of a loving husband and father,\u201d he said, claiming that valuing fathers will bring about an end to abortions.<\/p>\n \t Democratic Assemblymember Amy Paulin and Democratic State Senator Luis Sep\u00falveda sponsored the legislation. They said the language is supposed to update terminology from ancient Latin roots to better align with the Child-Parent Security Act\u2014signed by former Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2020. That law legalized gestational surrogacy\u2014where someone carries the fetus without contributing her own egg and has no genetic connection to the child.<\/p>\n The CPSA streamlined the path to legal rights for LGBTQ+ and infertile couples by using inclusive phrases like \u201cparentage\u201d rather than paternity. That\u2019s why the sponsors say the new bill extends that gender-neutral standard, to prioritize \u201cparental conduct and the relationship exhibited in the recognition and care for children.\u201d<\/p>\n \t New York\u2019s old laws only offered legal protections for straight, married couples using sperm donors, so advocates have been pushing for gender-neutral language since at least 2013. Before the CPSA, same-sex couples and parents relying on egg or embryo donations had to undergo an invasive, expensive \u201csecond-parent adoption\u201d process requiring criminal background checks and home visits to get legal rights over their children. By using \u201cparentage,\u201d the law offered legal protections regardless of biology, marital status, or sexual orientation.<\/p>\n Defending the new bill on social media on June 3<\/a>, Sep\u00falveda argued that the new terminology reduces confusion and supports working households. \u201cFamilies evolve, and our laws should reflect the realities they face today,\u201d he wrote, adding that the legislation strengthens child protections. \u201cNew York law works for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
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