The Adult Survivors Act, one of the highest-profile bills, did not get a vote in the New York state Assembly this year.
This bill would have created a civil lookback window for sexual assault victims ages 18 and older.
The state Senate passed the bill unanimously, but the Assembly didn’t take it up at all.
A bill that was recently passed and very similar was the Child Victims Act.
Marissa Hoechstetter, an advocate for the bill, said she was left with a lot of questions.
Hoechstetter herself is a victim of sexual assault after being abused by her former OBGYN, Dr. Robert Hadden, during a post-partum visit to his office. He is currently under federal indictment.
Hoechstetter stated that they were given no reasons for why the bill didn’t pass, but said one obvious reason might be that Governor Cuomo would have been forced to sign legislation that would hold him liable after the accusations of sexual assault.
Assembly spokesman Michael Whyland responded by saying that that was simply not the case and that members had other concerns about the bill.
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