New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) has signed into law one of the most horrifying abortion bills in the country, legalizing the abortion of unborn babies after the 24-week mark of pregnancy.

The ‘Reproductive Health Act’ states, “Every individual who becomes pregnant has the fundamental right to choose to carry the pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child, or to have an abortion.” New York will now no longer recognize abortion within its penal code and will allow licensed health practitioners that are not fully trained doctors to perform the procedure.

Governor Cuomo called the new legislation a “historic victory for New Yorkers and our progressive values.” He even ordered the One World Trade Center in New York City to be lit up pink to celebrate.

However, there has been no lack of response to this dehumanizing legislation from prominent advocates for life, such as Live Action founder and president Lila Rose. She described the new law as ‘infanticide.’

“Convicted criminals aren’t subjected to the death penalty in New York state, but now children up until the ninth month of pregnancy can be given lethal injections and poisoned to death…If Roe is not soon overturned, any state could follow New York’s monstrous example,” argued Rose.

New York State Right to Life also responded in a statement:

We commend those who voted to defend the unborn and their mothers, and speak out in debate. RHA is an extreme bill sold to the public saying it merely ‘updates’ New York’s law, which is far from true.

Oneof the most persuasive responses came from possibly the best available source:a doctor who has delivered over 4,000 babies. Dr. William Lile recorded thisvideo response:

“We treat the preborn as patients,” he commented. “Here in Florida, we’re going to stand up for the lives of the preborn.”

Is it surprising that the New York state legislature and Governor Cuomo would create a law with such blatant disregard for so many lives? Perhaps not, but it is still abhorrent and disgusting nonetheless. If Governor Cuomo would like to paint himself as a defender of human and civil rights, he should start at the most basic level: defending the lives of helpless unborn infants.

Photo credit: Quinn Dombrowski via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0