NEW YORK (LifeSiteNews) — The Archdiocese of New York is warning against a “dangerous” measure on the New York ballot this November.

Proposition One, or the so-called “Equal Rights Amendment,” would embed “abortion on demand up until the moment of birth into our constitution,” the archdiocese says on its website. It wants Catholics to be aware of the dangers and vote against the proposal this November.

The amendment to the constitution would also “undermine the ability of parents to make important decisions about their children’s health care. Children could be allowed to make life-altering decisions – such as ‘gender reassignment’ surgery – without parental consent or knowledge.”

“It would undermine legal protections based on a person’s age,” the archdiocese warned further. “Restrictions on the sexual activity of minors could be overturned, and bans on assisted suicide could be overturned.”

Religious liberty would also be threatened, as institutions could be forced to participate in abortion and so-called “sex change” operations, which surgically and chemically mutilate gender-confused individuals.

The proposal states, in part:

No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of this state or any subdivision thereof. No person shall, because of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed, religion, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy, be subjected to any discrimination in their civil rights by any other person or by any firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state, pursuant to law.

The problematic portions include the italicized parts about “sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy,” according to the archdiocesan analysis.

The state already has legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy under a 2019 law signed by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo. He subsequently ordered the One World Trade Center to be lit up in pink to celebrate abortion.

The backers of the “Equal Rights Amendment” (ERA) further back up the archdiocese’s concerns about abortion, the LGBT agenda, and religious freedom.

Attorney General Letitia James stated in June 2024 that the ERA “was advanced to protect access” to abortion and “enshrine” a so-called “right” to murder the unborn in the New York Constitution. “We will continue to do everything in our power to protect [abortion],” James added.

Planned Parenthood affirmed the ERA is about abortion, saying that it would block “any government actions that would curtail a person’s reproductive autonomy.”

It would also prevent New York from “implementing a state abortion ban” and “stopping state funding for abortion via Medicaid.”

The abortion vendor is part of a coalition of left-wing groups that are backing the amendment.

“New Yorkers for Equal Rights” includes the American Civil Liberties Union, the New Pride Agenda, trade unions, and dozens of other pro-abortion and pro-LGBT groups.

The New Pride Agenda supports requiring gender-confused male convicts to be housed with females.

The amendment could also prohibit any limits on embryo-destroying in-vitro fertilization.

The New York State Bar Association supports the legislation for this reason, in addition to the law’s protection for the killing of innocent pre-born babies.

The Independent Women’s Law Center has voiced its opposition to the ERA, however.

The bill would say “any person has the right to ‘self-identify’ into women-only spaces, including domestic abuse shelters, sports, locker rooms, and prisons,” the conservative group wrote in a comment to the New York State Board of Elections, concerning the description of the proposal.

“This amendment deprives women of their privacy and safety, and strips parental rights from New York families,” Independent Women’s Forum and its legal arm wrote in July. “Laws on the books protecting women and girls will be erased as the state shifts its focus on prioritizing the feelings of men over the safety of women.”

“The anti-woman amendment is disastrous for women.”