Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

New York lawmakers introduce bill to make Covid-19 vaccine MANDATORY. What about ‘my body, my choice’, critics wonder

New York lawmakers introduce bill to make Covid-19 vaccine MANDATORY. What about ‘my body, my choice’, critics wonder

Proposed legislation to make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory in New York has come under fire from critics, who are recalling the state's 2019 abortion bill and asking: Where have our rights to control our own bodies gone?

The State Assembly bill, which was introduced by Manhattan Democrat Linda Rosenthal, says in its summary that Covid-19 vaccinations would be compulsory “in certain situations.” But it later says any mandate would apply to “all individuals or groups of individuals who, as shown by clinical data, are proven to be safe to receive such vaccine.”


Such a mandate would be triggered into effect if public health officials determine that New Yorkers “are not developing sufficient immunity from Covid-19,” the bill says. The only exceptions would be people who have exemptions written by their doctors for medical reasons.

The bill was referred to the State Assembly’s Health Committee for discussion. It was introduced weeks after the New York State Bar Association passed a resolution urging the state to mandate Covid-19 vaccinations and deny exemptions for “religious, philosophical or personal reasons.”

The push for mandating immunization is an ironic twist in New York, where Governor Andrew Cuomo has expressed doubts about trusting the vaccine that would be approved by the Trump administration. Cuomo described the potential arrival of the vaccine under President Donald Trump as “bad news” and said that “we can’t let this vaccine plan go forward the way Trump is planning it.” He added that Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat who he expects to take office in January, would handle the rollout properly.

A vaccine mandate might also seem contradictory in a legislature where members gave a standing ovation in January 2019 after passing a bill that legalized abortion up until birth in many cases – based on the right of women to control their own bodies. Cuomo ordered One World Trade Center and other landmarks to be lit pink to celebrate his signing of the legislation.

Twitter commenters reminded Cuomo of the argument behind abortion law on Tuesday, borrowing a common pro-abortion slogan: “My body, my choice.”

“Only real Nazis would force people to participate in a huge medical experiment,” one observer tweeted. “Even Russia, the evil nemesis of the Dem establishment, made the vaccine voluntary. I guess 2020 has revealed the true character of the neoliberals and their brutal authoritarianism.”


Groups such as the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons have opposed vaccine mandates as a violation of human rights, and such concerns are amplified in the case of fast-tracked Covid-19 immunizations that are based on new scientific methods.

US law protects drug makers from liability for injuries and deaths caused by most vaccines. Vaccine damage claims go through a vaccine injury court, where judgments are funded by an excise tax that is included in vaccine prices.

Governor Cuomo has yet to publicly express his opinion on mandatory vaccination. Still, his party holds 106 of the 150 seats in the State Assembly, as well as 41 seats in the 60-member Senate, so the New York bill could easily become law if Cuomo favors it.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×