Judge blocks New York abortion rights amendment due to go before voters

In a blow to reproductive rights advocates and Democrats, judge rules procedures were not followed for constitutional amendment

A New York judge on Tuesday blocked a politically important abortion rights amendment from appearing before voters on the November ballot, dealing Democrats a setback as the party moved to focus battleground races in the state around abortion access.

State supreme court justice Daniel J Doyle found that state lawmakers failed to follow procedural rules around passing constitutional amendments, incorrectly approving the amendment before getting a written opinion on the language from the attorney general.