New York is one of 10 states where voters will be able to strengthen abortion rights at the upcoming general election in November. The abortion ballot proposals across the country seek to enshrine in state law the federal constitutional protections for abortion that the Supreme Court erased in June 2022 with its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022), with the proposals having the additional strategic goal of increasing turnout of voters likely to oppose Donald Trump's reelection bid.

As in other states, the New York proposal to amend its constitution spawned challenges by abortion opponents and supporters. The New York challenges targeted two separate stages of the amendment process: the Legislature's adoption of the proposed abortion amendment and then, in a second round of litigation, the preparation of ballot language for the proposed amendment. These disputes were not resolved until late August—just weeks before ballots had to be printed—and illustrate the perils of the constitutional amendment process in the cauldron of abortion politics.