Advocate Says New York Must Enshrine Roe v. Wade Protections In Law

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- With President Donald Trump calling for Roe v. Wade to be reversed, advocates said it is critical to enshrine the ruling's protections in state law.

WCBS 880's Alex Silverman spoke to a woman who found out firsthand what the New York abortion law says.

When Erika Christensen was told at 32 weeks her baby would not survive, he would choke to death after birth.

"We were devastated," Christensen said.

Then came the word from her doctor. There could be no abortion in New York because state law was never updated to the Roe v. Wade standard.

Doctors, while technically protected under the constitution, are wary of the criminal laws on the books here.

"You shouldn't be forced to be a tomb to carry a baby who is not going to make it," Christensen said.

So Christensen spent thousands of dollars and had an abortion in Colorado. Advocates said it is especially important now to bring New York's laws in line considering president trumps declared intention to overturn roe.

"I, like the other people in my support group, sat at home while the president called us murdering sadists on television," she said.

A bill updating the law has passed the state Assembly, but its prospects are unclear in the Republican state Senate.