In 2012, nearly half of America’s states enacted laws designed to protect women and children from coerced, unsafe, and rushed abortions. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, however, has dug in his heels in blind obedience to an outdated doctrine and is pushing to expand abortion in his state.

His goal: to allow mothers to end the lives of pre-born children throughout the third trimester of pregnancy, even after the babies could be safely delivered and adopted by loving, caring families.

Using the Reproductive Health Care Act as a springboard, Cuomo’s approach is to make abortion an unassailable right that trumps the life of the child at any stage of pregnancy, from week one to week 40. He calls this part of his broader “Women’s Equality Act.” (Perhaps he has not seen the bumper stickers advocating for “Equal Rights for Unborn Women”?)

Of course, whenever a so-called “fundamental right” is created, the true right of conscience of healthcare workers, other professionals, and even taxpayers, is eviscerated. As New York’s Catholic Conference’s Kathleen Gallagher said, “Gov. Cuomo’s bill elevates abortion to a fundamental right and says New York State can’t discriminate on abortion in benefits or services or anything else it provides.”

In fact, the bill bans any “restrictions on the use of tax money for abortions,” leaving New York taxpayers to participate in and foot the bill for abortions, whether they personally approve of abortions or not.

And that’s still not all. Cuomo’s bill not only means even more horror for pre-born children, but also ghastly outcomes for their mothers by allowing non-physicians to perform first-term abortions in the state of New York.

The recent post-abortion death of New Rochelle kindergarten teacher Jennifer Morbelli has already reminded us how dangerous abortion can be, even in the hands of a physician. Morbelli went into LeRoy Carhart’s clinic to abort her daughter, and ended up bleeding to death herself.

If this kind of tragedy can happen even when a doctor performs an abortion, what kind of results are in store if Cuomo succeeds in allowing lesser-trained persons to enter mothers’ wombs with scalpels and vacuums?

Our heart aches over both the death of Morbelli and that of her child—and we don’t want to see an increase in death on either side of that equation.

But Cuomo, desperate for a legacy, has chosen an approach which appeals to the bloodlust of the pro-death activists in New York, which have labeled him their “champion.” When Cuomo speaks on this bill, he ignites the base by chanting over and over, “It’s her body, her choice,” and he is answered with roaring applause. The deaths of untold millions are lost in the sound of it all.