By Thomas Montana
A federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s ruling regarding a challenge to the state’s Reproductive Health Act, much to the dismay of local pro-life groups.
On June 3, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision by the U.S District Court for the Northern District in March 2024 in the case of Mary Doe v. Hochul.
Mary Doe, a pseudonym used by a social worker, challenged the Reproductive Health Act (RHA), a law which aligned state policy with previous federal standards that were established prior to Roe v. Wade being overturned. Doe claimed that the act violated the fetuses’ “rights to life and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as their rights to legal redress under the First Amendment,” according to court documents.
Doe tried to represent specific fetuses affected by RHA, including “Baby Nicholas,” but her argument was denied standing due to her not having a “significant relationship” with the fetuses. After the lower court dismissed her case, the Second Circuit reviewed the case and ruled in favor of the state.
“Although we agree with Doe that the district court erred in requiring a ‘significant relationship’ … we affirm the dismissal of Doe’s claims on another ground: that she failed to identify or otherwise describe any class member in the viable fetus class that she sought to represent. Without describing at least one class member and the injury he faces, Doe necessarily cannot meet her burden of plausibly establishing a live case or controversy,” wrote Judge Lawrence D. Kahn in his decision.
“[On June 3], a federal appeals court affirmed the dismissal of a case that attempted to challenge New York’s Reproductive Health Act, our state law that protects reproductive freedom,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “Let me be clear: This means that New York’s nation-leading abortion protections under the Reproductive Health Act remain in effect.
Local pro-life organizations were dismayed by the decision. Jack O’Brian, chairman for The Long Island Coalition for Life, told Long Island Life & Politics that all fetuses are entities deserving of human rights. “It is an undeniable fact that each of us was once a fetus,” he said. “Consequently, the recognition and protection of these lives must be given due attention within both legal and ethical consideration, as their rights are no less significant than those of any other individual.”
Monica Migliorino of Red Rose Rescue — which recently lost a case against the state attorney general’s office over the FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances) Act after the group allegedly blocked access to two Long Island women’s health clinics — referred to the Act as “New York’s fetal homicide law” and said Doe “while losing her challenge, nonetheless should be commended for making an issue out of the gross injustice that is perpetrated against innocent and helpless human persons.”
— Additional reporting by Hank Russell