New York's abortion rights amendment knocked off November ballot, dealing a blow to Democrats

A New York judge has blocked a politically important abortion rights amendment from appearing before voters on the November ballot. The Tuesday ruling has dealt Democrats a setback as the party had moved to focus battleground races in the state around abortion access. State Supreme Court Justice Daniel J. Doyle found that state lawmakers failed to follow procedural rules around passing constitutional amendments. Democrats passed the Equal Rights Amendment last year to bar discrimination based on “pregnancy outcomes” or “gender expression.” Those provisions are intended to protect abortion rights and a person’s right to seek gender-affirming care.