NY Democrats Push Bill Replacing “Mother” and “Father” with “Gestating Parent” and “Non-Gestating Parent”

New York Democrats are once again finding new ways to ignite the culture-war firestorm, this time by taking aim at two of the most basic words in family life: mother and father.

A newly passed bill in Albany would strip “mother” and “father” from portions of state law and replace them with gender-neutral language such as “gestating parent,” “non-gestating parent,” and simply “parent.”

The measure, passed by Democrats in the state Legislature, would affect family court, custody, domestic relations, and education law. It now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk.

Under the bill, “paternity” proceedings would be renamed “parentage” cases. A “putative father,” often used in legal disputes involving an alleged biological dad, would become an “alleged parent.”

The legislation was sponsored by State Sen. Luis Sepulveda, a Bronx Democrat, and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, a Westchester Democrat. Supporters argue the language is needed to reflect modern family structures, including surrogacy, adoption, and same-sex parents.

But critics say the bill is another example of Albany Democrats obsessing over progressive language games while New Yorkers struggle with crime, rising costs, housing pressure, and sky-high taxes.

“It’s woke culture run amok,” state Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar told the New York Post. “It’s an example of how out of tune the New York legislature is.”

Republicans quickly seized on the measure as proof that Democrats are prioritizing ideology over everyday families.

Bruce Blakeman, a Republican candidate for governor, accused Democrats of “canceling the loving terms of Mom and Dad” and vowed, “The insanity ends when I’m Governor.”

State Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, a Long Island Republican, blasted the bill as wildly out of step with what voters actually care about.

“At a time when New Yorkers are being crushed by utility bills, rising costs, and public safety concerns, Albany Democrats have decided one of their final priorities in the last days of session should be replacing mothers and fathers in state law,” she said. “That is not what families are asking for. I am a mother and proud to be called ‘mother.’”

Even some Democrats reportedly rolled their eyes at the change.

“I have a word we can use for this, ‘unnecessary,’” one Democratic lawmaker told the Post.

The controversy comes after the Democrat-controlled Legislature was nearly two months late passing New York’s massive $268 billion state budget. Critics say that delay makes the focus on rewriting parental language even harder to defend.

Gov. Hochul, who has often referred to herself as New York’s “first mom governor,” declined to say whether she supports the bill.

“Well, I’m not familiar with what was introduced,” Hochul said Wednesday at an unrelated event in Brooklyn. “I’ll take a look at it.”

Adoption lawyer Leslie Silver-Hoffman defended the broader idea behind the change, saying family law has to account for adoptive parents, same-sex couples, and surrogacy arrangements.

“You have adoptive parents who are of the same gender in New York. There are two male parents, two female parents,” she said.

Sepulveda also defended the measure, saying it was needed to keep state law consistent with current statutes and court rulings.

But Republicans argue the bill goes far beyond legal clarity and lands squarely in the middle of a growing national fight over language, gender, and parental identity.

U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York said mothers are “the foundation of families and society” and not a “political construct.”

“At a time when New Yorkers are struggling with high taxes, rising costs, and public safety concerns, Albany Democrats are focused on redefining motherhood,” Tenney said.

State Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo, a Staten Island Republican, said Democrats are inventing problems that ordinary New Yorkers are not asking lawmakers to solve.

“New Yorkers aren’t walking down the street with their hands on top of their heads and saying, ‘Oh my God! The law says mother and father,’” Pirozzolo said. “This bill is not a mother and father thing. It’s not a gay thing. It’s a stupidity thing.”

The measure is part of a broader gender-neutral language trend in New York politics. In 2023, Hochul approved legislation requiring state laws, rules, and regulations to use gender-neutral terms such as “they,” “them,” and “theirs” instead of male or female language.

New York City also passed a 2018 law allowing residents to select “X” as a non-binary gender marker on birth certificates.

Now, with “mother” and “father” potentially being replaced in key sections of state law, critics say Albany has crossed another cultural line.

For many New Yorkers, the question is simple: with families being squeezed by inflation, crime fears, utility bills, and taxes, why is Albany spending its final days of session rewriting the words Mom and Dad?