By Dwight Smith
Ally for Reproductive Justice
Ally for Reproductive Justice
 |
| Assemblymember George Michaels |
April 9, 1970 is a special day in New York State legislative
history; Assemblyman George Michaels changed his vote from "No" to
"Yes", thereby enabling the 1970 Reproductive Health Act to pass the
Assembly (the state Senate had passed it previously; Governor Rockefeller
signed it into law the following day).
The story of that day, and the history of illegal abortions in New York
over the 150 years preceding it, are documented in "From Danger to Dignity: The Fight for Safe Abortion", produced by Concentric Media in
association with KTEH-TV, San Jose, CA.
It is available on YouTube and is well worth watching. Indeed, in today's political climate in which
reproductive rights are under fierce attack its message may be more important
than when it was released in 1995.
Yet even though significant in content and praiseworthy for
its production values, the documentary glosses over two contributing elements
of the 1970 story. They concern Michaels
himself, and the atmosphere in which that final vote took place.
First, a word about Michaels. A native of Queens and a graduate of Cornell
and Brooklyn Law School, he established a law practice in Auburn, New York, an
upstate, largely conservative and Roman Catholic city. A Democrat, he represented Auburn and Cayuga
County in the legislature from 1961-1966, when through reapportionment his
district was merged with its neighbor that encompassed Cortland County. He declined to run in the new district until
1969, when he rejoined the Assembly. At
the time, he was noted primarily for his support of expanded state aid for
rural school districts and (in 1970) for promoting the bluebird as the state's
official bird.
He also favored a woman's right to choose to have an
abortion on a personal basis, but how widely his position was then known is not
clear. He had twice complied with
requests from his District's Democratic Committee to vote against reproductive
rights, including legalized abortion. April
9, however, was a different story. As it
is described in "From Danger to Dignity" Michaels' decision is
clearly a significant event. But by incorporating only the final two sentences
of his remarks that day it misses a tense, emotional drama.
That absence may reflect the fact that the documentary was
prepared 25 years after the event by a team that had not been there to witness
it. My family and I were there, and we
still recall it as an occasion that merits a more complete description.
That we were in the Assembly Gallery at all that afternoon
was entirely happenstance. We had gone
to Albany City Hall that afternoon to apply for passports for a forthcoming
trip abroad (in those days the process began by having your signature notarized
by the town or city clerk). The process
took less time than we anticipated and as we walked back to our car parked by
the State Capitol I sensed a teaching moment for our three young sons. With no knowledge of what was up, I
suggested: "let's go see what is going on in the legislature". Since we were on the Assembly side of the
building, we went up to its gallery just as Michaels was beginning to talk.
To set the stage: when a roll call vote is being taken in
the Assembly, an electronic wall display shows each member's vote as well as a
running total of all Yes and No votes.
Ultimately, the Speaker instructs the clerk to close the voting process
and a final tally is announced and recorded.
Seventy-six Yes votes are required for passage of the matter at hand,
and the Speaker votes only when his vote will make a difference. On this occasion, the electronic display
showed a tie vote, 74-74, so even if the Speaker had voted the measure would
not pass.
While a roll call is in process members may address the
Assembly to explain their votes, but this is not common. When Michaels rose to speak no one knew what
he was going to say, and given the voting deadlock, the atmosphere in the packed
galleries was palpably tense.
I don't know how long he spoke; it seemed like ten minutes
or more. He rambled as he took us
through his inner thoughts. His intent
became clearer when he told the Assembly of pressures from his family. "One of my sons just called me a whore
for the vote I (previously) cast against this"; a second son insisted:
"Dad, for God's sake, don't let your vote be the vote that defeats the
bill". "I had hoped that this
would never happen," Michaels said; "(my constituents will) condemn
me for what I am about to do. But what's
the use of getting elected, or reelected, if you don't stand for something. … I
realize, Mr. Speaker, that I am terminating my political career, but I cannot
in good conscience sit here and allow my vote to be the one that defeats this
bill."
He asked the Speaker, Perry Duryea, Jr., a Republican from
Montauk, to change his vote to Yes. The
now- 75-73 vote required Duryea to vote: he voted Yes, declared the bill
passed, and immediately adjourned the session.
A highly-charged incident ended in a collective sigh of relief and joy.
From my perspective, Michaels’ story deserves repeating in
an era where #MeToo seems to be controlling the headlines. Despite current
notorious examples of misogyny, there are men who have stood and continue to
stand with women in the fight for equality. These are men who actively reject
the premise that women are a subordinate class when it comes to managing their
own lives. They don't do it for recognition and thanks but simply because they
believe it is the right thing to do. And
some, like Michaels, have even been willing to accept the accompanying personal
cost of standing up to established ways.
Watch the historic moment in this video:
