The New York state Legislature passed a bill that replaces the words "mother" and "father" in some state laws with gender-neutral language, a move that New York's bishops say will further "muddy what is true and good."
The bill, passed by the state Assembly in March and by the state Senate on June 2, now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul to be signed into law.
Under the new law, "mother" would be replaced with "gestating parent," and "father" would be "non-gestating parent." The words "paternity" and "filiation" would be replaced with "parentage."
The New York State Catholic Conference issued a memorandum on June 10 noting the bishops' opposition to the new law, calling it "politically charged" and "unnecessary."
"The truth is that mothers are mothers, and fathers are fathers," the bishops wrote. "Words matter, and serious changes to our governing language serve only to wash away the importance of these roles in our society."
"The yearslong push in our state for abortion on demand and up until birth, the endless millions of dollars funneled to Planned Parenthood, and the legalization of commercial surrogacy have reduced women to vessels and babies to disposable commodities," they said.
"The Legislature's final twist of the knife is now apparently removing the term 'mother' altogether," they wrote. "We must reverse course and recognize the importance of both mothers and fathers and pursue changes that truly support women and families."
The legislation (Senate Bill S9316/Assembly Bill A8382A) targets parts of the Family Court Act and laws having to do with, among others, domestic relations, social services, vehicle and traffic, alcoholic beverage control, child support statutes, and education law.
On June 3, Hochul said she was unfamiliar with the specifics of the bill and would familiarize herself with them before commenting.
"I have until the end of the year to review them and make a decision," she said, though according to New York state law, now that the Legislature is adjourned, she has 30 days to sign it. If she does not, the bill is automatically pocket-vetoed (it dies and does not become law).
New York's bishops urged Hochul "to veto this upsetting legislation and uphold the importance of both mothers and fathers in our state," saying the bill's "wholesale effect will be to mock the foundation of the family."
The bishops accused legislators of "political pandering and appeasing a small group of very loud advocates."
"Erasing the terms 'mother' and 'father' from our laws will not help struggling New Yorkers afford groceries, access healthcare, or find housing, but it will further muddy what is true and good," they wrote.
All 38 Senate Democrats who voted supported the measure, while all 22 Republicans voted against it. One Democrat also voted no, joining the unanimous Republican opposition. The bill had previously passed the Assembly 91-46 on March 19, with almost all Democrats voting for it and almost all Republicans against.
According to reporting by Fox5 New York, the state Senate bill passed quickly and with no debate, "shocking" some lawmakers.
While there was a short floor speech last week by Republican State Sen. Dean Murray opposing the bill, the overall process was rushed as the legislative session wrapped up June 10.
"These terms matter," Murray said. "'Mother' is one of the most sacred titles you can have. As is 'father,' 'grandmother,' grandfather.'"
He continued: "In fact ... the term mother is so important, we have a special day named after it," referring to Mother's Day.
"Of course, now maybe we change that to Gestating Parent's Day ... and Father's Day, just change it to Parent's Day."
Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney, a U.S. Congresswoman who previously served in the New York State Assembly from 2011 to 2016, issued a strong rebuke on social media, stating: "The party that can't define a woman is now rewriting New York law to erase mothers and fathers. Only in Albany could 'mom' and 'dad' become too controversial."
Proponents argue the new language is more inclusive and takes into account special cases that occur when there is no clear biological parent, such as in surrogacy and adoption situations.








