Arkansas – Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders criticized a New York bill changing legal terminology in state family law, calling the proposal “completely insane” and framing it as part of what she described as a broader divide between conservative and progressive policies in the United States.
“When I say politics is now Normal vs. Crazy, this is what I mean. This is completely insane! In Arkansas, we don’t do woke nonsense and as long as I’m Governor we never will,” Sanders wrote on social media in response to a post highlighting the New York legislation.
The debate centers on updates to language in New York’s Family Court Act, where terms such as “mother,” “father,” and “putative father” were replaced in portions of the law with terms including “gestating parent” and “non-gestating parent,” according to legislative text and reporting shared online.
The changes appear in amendments to sections of New York’s family law dealing with parentage, child support proceedings, and legal recognition of parental relationships. In the revised language, “gestating parent” is used in place of “mother” in certain legal contexts, while “alleged parent” or “non-gestating parent” replaces references to “father” in sections outlining legal proceedings to establish parentage.
Supporters of gender-neutral legal language argue that such updates are intended to make laws more inclusive of all families, including same-sex parents, transgender parents, and nontraditional family structures. Legal scholars and advocacy groups have previously noted that modernizing terminology in statutes can help ensure equal treatment under the law regardless of gender identity or family composition.
Similar terminology changes have been adopted in other jurisdictions across the United States in recent years, particularly in areas of family law, parental rights, and birth certificate documentation, as states attempt to standardize language that reflects a broader range of family structures.
Critics of the New York changes, including Sanders and conservative commentators, argue that replacing traditional terms like “mother” and “father” erases longstanding family definitions and reflects what they view as ideological influence in state policy.
The New York legislation referenced in the discussion modifies sections of the Family Court Act governing parentage proceedings, including how courts determine legal parent-child relationships, venue rules for filing cases, and procedures when a parent is deceased or unavailable.
As of publication, the bill has been reported as moving through the New York legislative process and awaiting final approval steps before implementation, depending on gubernatorial action and procedural requirements.
The exchange highlights ongoing national tensions over how states define family relationships in law, with progressive-led states adopting more gender-neutral terminology while conservative leaders push back against such changes as unnecessary or politically motivated.
Sanders’ comments add to a broader pattern of Republican officials using state-level policy changes in Democratic-led states as examples in national political messaging, particularly on cultural and social issues related to gender, family, and education.