New York lawmakers are poised to expand abortion rights in the state this week — a long-held goal of Democrats made possible by their recent takeover of the State Senate.

Despite New York legalizing abortion three years before the Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, the state has deferred to the 1973 landmark ruling, which is more lenient than the its own law. The proposed Reproductive Health Act on the table next week would make New York's statute conform to federal standards, in case the Supreme Court ever overturned Roe.

Among other things, the legislation would take abortion out of the state's criminal code and permit third-term abortions if a woman's health was in jeopardy or if the fetus wasn't viable. Andrea Miller, from the National Institute for Reproductive Health, says the current law is unfairly restrictive.

“As a result, women and families are having to travel very late in pregnancy to other states in order to get this care,” Miller said. “And some are not able to get it at all.”

The GOP controlled the State Senate for most of the last half-century, so Republicans were always able to block the bill. But since winning senate control in November, Democrats have declared passing the dozen-year-old legislative package to be a top priority.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has also called on the legislature to enshrine Roe v. Wade in the state constitution — a step that would ultimately need voter approval through a ballot referendum.

In a joint statement, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the bishops of New York protested the Reproductive Health Act. "With an abortion rate that is already double the national average," they wrote, "New York law is moving in the wrong direction."