New York state in the United States has passed a bill to delete the legal terms "mother" and "father" and replace them with "gestating parent" and "non-gestating parent," respectively, sparking controversy.
According to the New York Post, the New York State Legislature recently passed a bill to change the parental titles used in family law and child-rearing statutes to gender-neutral terms. The bill was introduced by Democratic Sen. Luis Sepúlveda and Assembly Member Amy Paulin and now awaits only the signature of Gov. Kathy Hochul.
If implemented, "mother" in law would be replaced with "gestating parent," and "father" with "non-gestating parent" or "parent." "Paternity," meaning the process of establishing biological fatherhood, would also be changed to "parentage." The term previously known as "putative father" would be changed to "alleged parent."
The debate over the bill immediately spilled into politics. Bruce Blakeman, a Republican candidate for New York governor, said in a statement, "Democrats are erasing the most basic language of the family, 'mom' and 'dad,'" adding, "This madness will end when I become governor." Gerard Kassar, chair of the New York Conservative Party, also said, "With the budget delayed by nearly two months, the Legislature is prioritizing this issue," calling it "an example of how out of touch New York politics is with reality." A Democratic lawmaker also told the New York Post, "The only word to describe this bill is 'unnecessary.'"
Supporters, however, argue the revision is meant to reflect changing family structures. The bill memo says legal terminology needs updating to reflect the rise of same-sex couples and surrogacy. Adoption attorney Leslie Silver Hoffman said, "In New York, there are families with two fathers and families with two mothers," adding, "Legal terms premised solely on traditional notions of family do not sufficiently reflect reality." Sepúlveda, who introduced the bill, also said it is "an alignment effort to match existing case law and the current legal framework."
Observers say the controversy is part of a broader push for gender-neutral policies that New York has advanced in recent years. In 2023, the state passed a bill expanding the use of gender-neutral pronouns in laws and regulations, and in 2018 it allowed a third gender, "X (nonbinary)," on birth certificates in addition to male and female.