Full Breakdown
New York Bill Replaces “Mother” and “Father” with Gender-Neutral Terms
6/4/2026, 9:48:35 PM
Legislative Action: Redefining Parental Terms
The New York State Senate approved a bill that substitutes “mother” with “gestating parent” and “father” with “non-gestating parent” in child-custody, domestic and education statutes. It also renames “paternity” proceedings as “parentage” cases and changes “putative father” to “alleged parent.” The measure cleared the Assembly in March, passed the Senate in early June, and now awaits Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature.
Context and Sponsors
The bill was introduced by Democratic Senator Luis R. Sepúlveda (Bronx) and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (Westchester). Sponsors say the language aligns state law with family-court practice in surrogacy and same-sex parent cases. They cite the 2023 mandate for gender-neutral pronouns in statutes and the 2018 law allowing a non-binary “X” gender marker on birth certificates. Adoption lawyer Leslie Silver-Hoffman noted that New York’s adoption system already includes families with two mothers or two fathers, supporting the change. The 15,000-word measure follows a $268 billion state budget that was delayed nearly two months, a delay cited by opponents as evidence of misplaced priorities.
Official Statements & Opposition
Senator Sepúlveda said the measure is “needed to be consistent with current statute and case law.” Governor Hochul, when asked, replied, “I’ll take a look at it. This has been my practice for five years.” Critics include Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar, who called the effort “woke culture run amok” and “unnecessary and wasteful.” Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman described it as a “declaration of war on New York families.” U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney argued that “mothers are the foundation of families and society,” and Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo dismissed the bill as “stupidity.”
Verbatim Quotes
- “It's woke culture run amok. It's one-upmanship.” — Gerard Kassar, Conservative Party Chairman
- “Democrats led by Kathy Hochul have continued their declaration of war on New York families by canceling the loving terms of Mom and Dad and replacing them with ‘gestating and non-gestating parent,’” — Bruce Blakeman, Republican gubernatorial candidate
- “the foundation of families and society” — Claudia Tenney, U.S. Representative
- “The bill was needed to be consistent with current statute and case law.” — Luis R. Sepúlveda, State Senator
What’s Next
Governor Hochul will decide within weeks whether to sign or veto the legislation. If enacted, the terminology change could trigger further gender-neutral revisions in other New York statutes.
