I just sent the following letter to the editor of the Albany Times Union 

The Women’s Equality Act promises real religious liberty by ensuring that a woman of any faith, or none, can continue to receive the care guaranteed by Roe v. Wade – just as she has for the past forty years. It safeguards her and her doctor’s decision-making – whatever that decision – so that she gets the care she needs, consistent with her faith and her understanding of her own situation and her own body.

Politicians and groups opposed to women’s equality are using the term “religious liberty” to misrepresent the full Women’s Equality Act, in a thinly veiled attempt to impose their personal and denominational religious restrictions on others.

My faith tradition, and the many traditions represented by Interfaith Impact of NYS, has long stood for ensuring access to birth control, keeping abortion safe and legal, and making sure our teens have age-appropriate, comprehensive sexuality education. 

So let’s clear the air and make sure New York women have the right to make their own health care decisions. Mandatory motherhood is ethically untenable. Reproductive justice is imperative. New York State policy makers should support religious liberty by standing up for the Women’s Equality Act.

Yours in Community,

Robb Smith, Executive Director, Interfaith Impact of NYS

The Women's Equality Act will be back on our New York State legislative agenda when the next session starts in January. Feel free to cut and paste from this as you draft your own letters over the coming months.