Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday he will seek a constitutional amendment to codify into state law the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.

Such an amendment would ensure the right to an abortion remain in place in New York in the event the decision is overturned, or altered by a new U.S. Supreme Court. President Donald Trump tweeted Monday that he will announce his nominee for the high court seat vacated by Antonin Scalia on Tuesday evening. He is expected to choose a right-leaning justice.

Unlike normal legislative efforts, including the long-stalled effort to codify Roe v. Wade into law through the legislative process, state constitutional amendments must be passed by two consecutively elected Legislatures. For example, if lawmakers were to pass an amendment this year, lawmakers in 2019 would have to pass it again (the Legislature is elected to a two-year term).

Amendments that receive legislative sign-off then go before the voters on the November ballot after they are passed the second time.

Any block to such a constitutional amendment is likely to arise in the Senate. Controlled by Republicans, who have a majority coalition with the Independent Democratic Conference, the Senate has not approved a measure that would codify Roe v. Wade into state law, despite repeated passage by the Democrat-controlled Assembly.

Not only has there been general Republican opposition to the abortion legislation — which originally was part of a 10-plank Women’s Equality Agenda that ultimately was broken up, with nine planks were approved piecemeal — but there may be difficulty in getting some Democrats, namely Sen. Ruben Diaz of the Bronx, to vote for the measure.

When the Senate issue was noted on Twitter, a Cuomo spokesman tweeted simply that the governor’s proposal lets the people decide.

@matt_hamilton10 put it on the ballot. Let the people decide. — Rich Azzopardi (@RichAzzopardi) January 30, 2017

Cuomo’s announcement came at Family Planning Advocates of New York’s advocacy day rally in Albany.

Earlier this month, Cuomo took action to require health insurers to cover at least one type of contraception and/or specific contraception that a woman’s doctor says is medically necessary. Regulations he put forth also clarify that mandated coverage of medically necessary surgeries may not exclude abortions.

