Nicolai Haugsted
Critics Slam State Effort to Replace ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ With New Terms
Words buried deep inside legal codes rarely become political flashpoints.
New York lawmakers have managed to change that after advancing legislation that could replace several traditional family-related terms with gender-neutral alternatives across parts of state law.
Proposal has now cleared the state Senate and awaits a decision from Governor Kathy Hochul, setting up a fresh debate over language, family structures and the role of government.
Major Changes Proposed
According to New York Post, Measure passed the New York Senate by a 38-23 vote and would affect a broad range of legal areas, including family court proceedings, education statutes, social services and domestic relations law.
Under the proposal, references to “mother” could be replaced in some legal contexts by “gestating parent,” while “father” could become either “non-gestating parent” or simply “parent.”
Several other long-standing legal terms would also be revised. “Paternity” would become “parentage,” while “putative father” would be replaced with “alleged parent.”
Supporters say the revisions are intended to reflect family arrangements that are increasingly common across the state, including same-sex parenting, adoption, surrogacy and assisted reproductive technologies.
State Senator Luis Sepúlveda, who sponsored the legislation, said the changes are designed to align statutory language with existing legal practice.
“It was needed to be consistent with current statute and case law,” he told the New York Post.
Supporters Say the Law Has Fallen Behind
Backers of the bill argue that legal terminology has not kept pace with modern family structures.
Adoption attorney Leslie Silver-Hoffman pointed to situations involving same-sex couples who are raising children together and navigating family courts.
“You have adoptive parents who are of the same gender in New York. There are two male parents, two female parents,” she told the New York Post.
Legislative documents accompanying the proposal note that family courts already handle cases involving surrogacy agreements and same-sex parents, making the terminology update a logical next step, according to supporters.
Critics Push Back
Opponents have questioned both the timing and necessity of the measure.
Critics argue that lawmakers should be focused on issues such as affordability, crime and public services rather than revising legal definitions.
Republican State Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick was among those who voted against the bill.
“At a time when New Yorkers are being crushed by utility bills, rising costs, and public safety concerns, Albany Democrats have decided one of their final priorities should be replacing mothers and fathers in state law,” she said.
Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick later added that she was proud to be called a mother and argued that families were not demanding such changes.
Criticism has not come exclusively from Republicans. According to the New York Post, one Democratic lawmaker privately described the proposal as unnecessary.
Decision Now Rests With the Governor
Governor Kathy Hochul has not indicated whether she plans to sign the legislation.
Asked about the proposal during a recent public appearance, Hochul said she had not yet reviewed the bill and would examine it before reaching a conclusion.
Should the governor approve the measure, the revised terminology would take effect on November 1.
Proposal follows a broader trend in New York toward gender-neutral language in government documents and legal procedures, including previous changes involving pronouns and non-binary identification options on official records.
