N.Y. bill would replace ‘mother,’ ‘father’ with gender-neutral terms

The New York Legislature has passed a bill that would strip the words “mother” and “father” from sections of state family law and replace them with gender-neutral alternatives, sending the measure to Gov. Kathy Hochul for her signature or veto.

Under the legislation — designated A8382A/S9316 and co-sponsored by state Sen. Luis Sepulveda and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, both Democrats — “mother” would become “gestating parent,” “father” would become “non-gestating parent,” and the legal term “paternity” would be replaced by “parentage” across family court proceedings, domestic relations law, child support statutes, and education law. A “putative father” — an unestablished biological parent — would be redesignated as “alleged parent” in official records.

The Democratic-controlled assembly passed the measure in March, and the state Senate gave its approval this week as the legislative session closed Thursday. Supporters say the changes are intended to make custody law more inclusive for LGBTQ+ parents and those who use assisted reproduction or surrogacy, and would not alter existing parental rights. Critics contend the bill is an unnecessary rewrite of settled family law language.

Ms. Hochul said at a news conference that she was not yet familiar with the proposal, and indicated she has until the end of the year to act on it. “I have until the end of the year to review them and make a decision, so I won’t be commenting on pending legislation,” she said. A spokesperson for the governor’s office told CBS 6 Albany that “the Governor believes mothers are mothers and fathers are fathers, and no legislation changes that.” If signed, the changes would take effect Nov. 1.

State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar criticized the measure as a misuse of Albany’s time.

“It’s an example of how out of tune the New York legislature is,” Mr. Kassar said. “It’s an unnecessary and wasteful use of time. Imagine people who are considering moving to New York seeing this and saying, ’Do I need this silliness?’”

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County executive, pushed back sharply in a social media post Friday.

“In Kathy Hochul’s New York, ’mom’ is now defined as ’gestating parent,’” Mr. Blakeman wrote. “Not when I’m Governor! I’ll stand up for moms and dads against this insanity.” He added in a separate post: “This bill is a continuation of Hochul’s war on families, and I won’t stop fighting until we take New York back.”

Rep. Claudia Tenney, New York Republican, also weighed in on X Thursday.

“The party that can’t define a woman is now rewriting New York law to erase mothers and fathers,” Ms. Tenney wrote. “Only in Albany could ’mom’ and ’dad’ become too controversial.”