ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) — At the end of the legislative session in June, the Democratically-controlled New York State Legislature passed a bill— S9316/A8382A—that would replace gendered words like “mother” and “father” across state law with neutral terms. Governor Kathy Hochul hasn’t yet called up the bill for consideration, but Republicans want a veto in time for Father’s Day.
The bill changes “paternity” and “filiation” to “parentage”; “mother” to “gestating parent”; and “father” to “non-gestating parent.” 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.
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.
“Only a woman can become pregnant and give birth,” Weik said, calling the new terminology dehumanizing.
And “This should never have been a legislative priority when families are struggling with real issues that actually matter,” according to Weber.
State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt echoed those concerns on June 2, calling the bill an out-of-touch distraction. New Yorkers “just want a fix to the sky-high utility bills and rampant public safety issues in their communities,” he said.
It’s the latest front in the culture war over gender identity in New York. After the passage of Proposition 1 in 2024—which enshrined gender identity and expression protections into the state constitution—the State Senate minority has consistently rallied against “inclusive” mandates. In 2025, they joined Bruce Blakeman—the Republican Nassau County Executive running to unseat the governor—to push legislation that would ban transgender athletes from school sports and delay rules letting people use bathrooms that match their preferred gender.
For his part, in a campaign email on June 16, Blakeman said, “Hochul’s New York is focused on erasing moms and dads from the law books.” He said that New Yorkers are fleeing to escape the local economy, pledged to cut taxes if elected, and asked for campaign contributions.
Similarly, in a fundraising newsletter on Thursday, the Reverend Jim Harden—CEO of the anti-abortion group CompassCare, which operates medical pregnancy centers—also called out the bill. He argued that calling fathers non-gestating parents is a downgrade, that Father’s Day will always be a hollow sentimentality unless society learns to embrace Biblical fatherhood.
“Not a sane woman alive would consider abortion if she had the support of a loving husband and father,” he said, claiming that valuing fathers will bring about an end to abortions.
Democratic Assemblymember Amy Paulin and Democratic State Senator Luis Sepúlveda 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—signed by former Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2020. That law legalized gestational surrogacy—where someone carries the fetus without contributing her own egg and has no genetic connection to the child.
The CPSA streamlined the path to legal rights for LGBTQ+ and infertile couples by using inclusive phrases like “parentage” rather than paternity. That’s why the sponsors say the new bill extends that gender-neutral standard, to prioritize “parental conduct and the relationship exhibited in the recognition and care for children.”
New York’s 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 “second-parent adoption” process requiring criminal background checks and home visits to get legal rights over their children. By using “parentage,” the law offered legal protections regardless of biology, marital status, or sexual orientation.
Defending the new bill on social media on June 3, Sepúlveda argued that the new terminology reduces confusion and supports working households. “Families evolve, and our laws should reflect the realities they face today,” he wrote, adding that the legislation strengthens child protections. “New York law works for everyone.”
He posted a bilingual infographic explicitly denying claims of erasure. “Mothers and fathers remain fully recognized,” it read. It makes the case that the law makes it easier to access documents like birth certificates and school registrations, and would even make legal disputes less expensive. “Government should work for real families living real lives,” according to the infographic.
Nancy Nissen from the law firm Tully Rinckey explained that the new labels probably won’t have much of an impact on court decisions. She said the update reflects genuine changes among working families in New York, who are likelier to have surrogates, same-sex parents, and blended households than in the past.
“Family law is constantly evolving to reflect the realities of modern families,” she said, adding that courts will still examine custody through the lens of a child’s best interest, not how state law classifies the parent.
