New York's legislature just passed a bill that would scrub the word "mother" from state custody and parental laws and replace it with "gestating parent." Because apparently the word that billions of humans have used since the dawn of civilization isn't inclusive enough for Albany Democrats in 2026.
Congratulations to every mom out there — the government has officially demoted you. "Gestating Parent." Two words that will make every mother in America furious and every father — sorry, "non-gestating parent" — shake his head in disbelief.
The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Luis Sepulveda, a Democrat from the Bronx, and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, a Democrat from Westchester, rewrites New York's child custody laws to swap out some of the most basic words in the English language. "Mother" becomes "gestating parent." "Father" becomes "non-gestating parent" or just "parent." And "putative father" — the legal term for a man claiming paternity — gets neutered into "alleged parent," as reported by 100 Percent Fed Up.
Because nothing says "we care about families" like reducing motherhood to a clinical biology term that sounds like it belongs in a livestock manual.
Gerard Kassar, the chairman of the New York State Conservative Party and a former state Senate and Assembly staffer, didn't mince words. "It's woke culture run amok. It's one-upmanship," Kassar said. He added that the bill is "an example of how out of tune the New York legislature is" — which might be the understatement of the decade.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders weighed in with the perfect summary: "When I say politics is now Normal vs. Crazy, this is completely insane!" She's not wrong. We're watching a major state legislature spend its time erasing biological motherhood from the law while the same legislature was nearly two months late passing the actual state budget. Priorities, folks.
Republican candidate Conner Dunleavy, who is challenging the state Assembly's judicial committee chair, called the bill out for what it is — legislation that "serves to undermine our families" from lawmakers whose "priorities are totally out of whack." Hard to argue with that assessment when your elected officials are more worried about gendered pronouns than balancing the books.
Gov. Kathy Hochul now has 10 days to sign or veto the bill. If she signs it, the changes take effect November 1. And if she does sign it — which, let's be honest, she probably will because this is Kathy Hochul we're talking about — New York will officially become the state that couldn't define "mother."
Rep. Wesley Hunt also blasted the legislation, and rightly so. This isn't a fringe proposal from some campus activist group. This passed through committee and floor votes in the New York State Legislature with full Democratic support. These are your elected officials, New York. This is what they think of your mom.
Here's the thing they'll never understand: you can change the law, but you can't change biology. Every kid in America knows what a mother is. Every adult knows what a mother is. The only people confused are the ones writing laws in Albany. "Gestating parent." I'd laugh if it weren't so insulting to every woman who's ever carried a child.
