ALBANY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo called Monday for including abortion rights in the New York Constitution, calling it an unprecedented opportunity to protect a woman's right to choose.

With former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by his side, Cuomo delivered a pro-choice speech at Barnard College in Manhattan, vowing to withhold support for a 2019-20 state budget until the Legislature approves the Reproductive Health Act and the Comprehensive Contraception Coverage Act, long-stalled bills that would bolster abortion rights and birth-control coverage, respectively.

But Cuomo took his call a step further, vowing to push an amendment that would enshrine a woman's right to choose in the state Constitution.

Such a move would make it more difficult for future governors and lawmakers to reverse: A constitutional amendment has to be approved by successively elected Legislatures and approved by a vote of the public.

Cuomo first made the call for an amendment last year, but it has new strength with Democrats taking full control of the Legislature this year.

"We'll pass it next year, we'll put it on the ballot, we'll write it into the constitution and we'll be able to say we protected women's rights in a way no one else has before," Cuomo said Monday.

Legislature to act

The Legislature is expected to approve the Reproductive Health Act — a bill that would install Roe v. Wade rights in state law and remove abortion from the penal code — on Jan. 22, the 46th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision.

For a decade, the bill stalled in Albany, held up by a Republican-led Senate that was highly critical of language in the bill that would allow health care professionals other than doctors to perform abortions.

More:How a Supreme Court retirement is fueling New York's abortion debate

That changed in November, when Senate Democrats won 39 seats, enough for a comfortable majority in the 63-seat chamber.

The Assembly has long been controlled by Democrats who have approved the bill in the past.

While the bill would enshrine current federal abortion rights in state law, it would require a separate vote by the Legislature to begin the constitutional amendment process. From there, the next Legislature, which will be seated in 2021, would have to approve the same amendment before it's sent to voters for final approval.

New Senate leader

Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, will be sworn in as majority leader on Wednesday, becoming the first black woman to lead a majority conference in Albany.

She first sponsored the Reproductive Health Act in 2007.

"This is only the beginning of the protections that we will have for our women, for our environment, criminal-justice reform, education — the list goes on," she said Monday. "But in January, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we will make our statement, we will make our mark."

Pro-life groups have long argued against the bill, viewing it as an expansion of abortion rights. They also take issue with removing criminal penalties for illegal abortions, arguing it could lessen penalties in domestic-violence cases if a pregnant woman loses her baby.

"A real concern is that if you take abortion out of the criminal code, what happens in instances of domestic violence where men abuse the women they are sharing living spaces with," said Jason McGuire, executive director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, a conservative group based in Spencerport, Monroe County.

"And we know there are heightened instances of domestic violence cases during pregnancy."

Battle over concerns

Pro-choice groups say that concern is unfounded: The penal law has many other crimes that could apply in such a case. They argue that abortion is a medical procedure and as such should be in the state's public health law.

In a statement Monday, the head of Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts praised Cuomo and Democratic lawmakers for vowing to pass the bill within the first 30 days of the legislative session, arguing that a conservative Supreme Court hastens the need to act.

"The threat to our health care is real and requires immediate action," said Robin Chappelle Golston, the organization's president and CEO.

Clinton, the 2016 Democratic candidate for president, praised Cuomo for pushing for abortion protections, calling him a "lifelong champion of these rights."

In her remarks Monday, Clinton recounted New York's history of championing women's rights, noting that "New York led the rest of the country even before Roe v. Wade in making abortion legal."

"But the struggle for women's equality is not something simply to be read about in the pages of your history books," Clinton said. "It continues to be the fight of our lifetime."

JCAMPBELL1@gannett.com

Jon Campbell is a correspondent with the USA TODAY Network's Albany Bureau.