New York Democrats have sent Gov. Kathy Hochul a culture-war grenade after passing legislation that would strip “mother” and “father” from sections of state law and replace them with gender-neutral terms.
The bill would revise portions of New York’s child custody and parental statutes by changing “mother” to “gestating parent” and “father” to “non-gestating parent.”
It would also rename “paternity” proceedings as “parentage” cases and swap the phrase “putative father” for “alleged parent.”
The measure was sponsored by Democratic Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and Democratic state Sen. Luis Sepulveda before clearing the Legislature and heading to Hochul’s desk.
Supporters framed the bill as a technical update meant to account for modern family structures, including surrogacy and same-sex parents.
🚨 JUST NOW: New York is set to OUTLAW the term "MOTHER" and "FATHER" on some documentation because it's "outdated" and should be called "gestating parent" instead
Father = "non-gestating person"
WHAT ON EARTH IS WRONG WITH DEMOCRATS?! pic.twitter.com/wLt7ckEpNZ
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 4, 2026
A memo accompanying the legislation said the change was needed because family law has to address cases involving same-sex couples and assisted reproduction.
The push also followed a January 2025 recommendation from the Family Court Advisory and Rules Committee, a state advisory group made up of family court judges.
That committee urged the state to replace gendered language in family court law with gender-neutral wording.
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“Notions of parenthood have shifted dramatically in recent years,” the committee wrote in its recommendation report.
“The committee is proposing a measure to fill this gap and to modernize New York’s statutory structure.”
Paulin defended the proposal by pointing to the Office of Court Administration, which oversees New York’s court system.
“The Office of Court Administration asked for this bill to modernize the law to respect all families in whatever form they take,” Paulin commented to The Advocate. “That’s all this bill does.”
The legislation passed the Assembly in March and cleared the state Senate this week, just before lawmakers wrapped their session Thursday.
Critics immediately accused Democrats of trying to erase the words “mom” and “dad” from New York law while ignoring more urgent problems facing families.
Hochul’s office pushed back on the backlash while saying the governor would review the measure.
“The Governor believes mothers are mothers and fathers are fathers, and no legislation changes that. The legislation, which we will review, appears to address technical legal issues related to surrogacy and parentage. Anyone making bad-faith arguments is deliberately misleading New Yorkers for political gain,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
During a news conference, Hochul said she was not yet familiar enough with the proposal to take a position.
“I have until the end of the year to review them and make a decision, so I won’t be commenting on pending legislation,” Hochul said.
Republicans were not waiting for her review. Bruce Blakeman, a Republican running for governor, accused Democrats of waging a “war” on families by targeting the terms Mom and Dad.
In Kathy Hochul’s New York, “mom” is now defined as “gestating parent.”
Not when I’m Governor!
I’ll stand up for moms and dads against this insanity. pic.twitter.com/WR11odWsz1
— Bruce Blakeman (@NassauExec) June 5, 2026
“The insanity ends when I’m governor,” Blakeman said.
He also attacked Hochul directly on social media. “In Kathy Hochul’s New York, ‘mom’ is now defined as ‘gestating parent,'” Blakeman wrote. “Not when I’m Governor! I’ll stand up for moms and dads against this insanity.”
“This bill is a continuation of Hochul’s war on families, and I won’t stop fighting until we take New York back,” he added.
Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., also blasted the proposal on X.
“The party that can’t define a woman is now rewriting New York law to erase mothers and fathers. Only in Albany could ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ become too controversial.”
The party that can’t define a woman is now rewriting New York law to erase mothers and fathers.
Only in Albany could “mom” and “dad” become too controversial. 🤡🌎 pic.twitter.com/Hwksj43eE4
— Rep. Claudia Tenney (@RepTenney) June 4, 2026
New York Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar called the bill “woke culture run amok.”
“It’s an example of how out of tune the New York legislature is,” Kassar commented. “It’s an unnecessary and wasteful use of time.”
Kassar warned that the gender-neutral rewrite could be the beginning of a broader push from Democratic lawmakers.
Republican state Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick argued lawmakers were focused on the wrong priorities as New Yorkers struggle with bills, crime concerns and rising costs.
“Albany Democrats have decided one of their final priorities in the last days of session should be replacing mothers and fathers in state law,” Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick said. “That is not what families are asking for.”
Across the Hudson River, another Democratic governor was drawing fire over a very different immigration-related spending move.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Thursday night that the state would add millions more in taxpayer funding to legal defense services for illegal aliens facing deportation.
“We are increasing funding for the Detention Deportation Defense Initiative by $12 million – for a total of $20.2 million,” Sherrill wrote on social media.
NEWS: We are increasing funding for the Detention Deportation Defense Initiative by $12 million – for a total of $20.2 million.
We are also launching a Rapid Legal Response Initiative to expand statewide legal capacity for emergency immigration defense and support immigrant…
— Governor Mikie Sherrill (@GovSherrillNJ) June 4, 2026
She also announced a Rapid Legal Response Initiative designed to expand emergency immigration-defense legal capacity across the state.
The program provides free legal counsel to migrants in New Jersey who are facing removal proceedings.
Sherrill defended the spending as a due-process and human-rights issue.
“These actions will help ensure more people in New Jersey’s communities receive due process under the law and more New Jersey attorneys are mobilized to stand up for the fundamental human rights of detainees and their families,” she said.
The announcement came after nearly two weeks of clashes outside Delaney Hall, an immigration detention facility in Newark.
New Jersey state police joined federal authorities earlier this week to help control unrest outside the site.
The latest confrontations included far-left agitators forming human blockades near the facility entrance, interfering with agents trying to enter and leave.
Rioters also shoved and threatened law enforcement, according to the source text.
Detainees at Delaney Hall were reportedly on a hunger strike inside the facility.
Meanwhile, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez again refused to shut down speculation about a possible 2028 presidential bid.
The New York Democrat told Fox News that her focus remains on healthcare rather than job titles.
“Could I be president?” Ocasio-Cortez told the outlet. “Could I not be president? Maybe, maybe not.”
“What matters more is that we guarantee healthcare in this country,” she added.
Ocasio-Cortez has not launched a 2028 campaign, but she has repeatedly declined to rule one out.
“I mean the answer is the answer,” she replied when pressed about the possibility of seeking the presidency.
She said universal healthcare mattered more than whether she personally became president.
“There’s a world where in order to do that, I shouldn’t have that job,” Ocasio-Cortez stated.
“There’s a world where, maybe. But the most important thing is getting everyone healthcare in this country.”
