NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A21
SPONSOR: Glick (MS)
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to
enacting the reproductive health act and revising existing provisions of
law regarding abortion; to amend the penal law, the criminal procedure
law, the county law and the judiciary law, in relation to abortion; to
repeal certain provisions of the public health law relating to abortion;
to repeal certain provisions of the education law relating to the sale
of contraceptives; and to repeal certain provisions of the penal law
relating to abortion
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Relates to access to reproductive services.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill establishes the legislative intent.
Section 2 of the bill creates a new Article 25-A of the Public Health
Law (PHL), which includes section 2599-aa, Policy and Purpose, and
section 2599-bb, Abortion, which states that an abortion may be
performed by a licensed, certified, or authorized practitioner within 24
weeks from the commencement of pregnancy, or there is an absence of
fetal viability, or at any time when necessary to protect a patient's
life or health.
Section 3 of the bill repeals § 4164 of the Public Health Law. Section 4
of the bill repeals § 6811 of the Education Law.
Section 5 of the bill repeals Penal Law SS 125.40, 125.45, 125.50,
120.55 and 125.60 and amends the article heading of Article 125.
Section 6 of the bill amends Penal Law § 125.00. Section 7 of the bill
amends Penal Law § 125.05.
Section 7-a of the bill repeals subdivisions 2 and 3 of § 125.05 of the
Penal Law.
Section 8 of the bill repeals subdivision 2 of § 125.15 of the Penal
Law. Section 9 of the bill repeals subdivisions 3 of § 125.20 of the
Penal Law.
Sections 10, 11, and 12 of the bill make conforming changes by removing
references to the crime of abortion in the Criminal Procedure Law, the
County Law, and the Judiciary Law.
Section 13 of the bill creates a severability clause. Section 14 sets
forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In 1970, New York legalized abortion in some circumstances, thereby
recognizing that a woman has a fundamental right to make medical deci-
sions about the course of a pregnancy. Three years later, the Supreme
Court of the United States issued its landmark decision in (Roe v.
Wade), 410 U.S. 113 (1973), holding that this fundamental right is
protected by the United States Constitution.
During the decades since (Roe v. Wade) was decided, there have been
numerous court decisions clarifying the scope of the right to abortion
but, unfortunately, New York's laws have remained outdated. Further-
more, it is clear that some provisions of New York law are unconstitu-
tional and have proved burdensome to women seeking to assert their
constitutionally protected right to an abortion.
This bill updates New York's abortion statutes to address constitutional
flaws in our laws and recognize a woman's fundamental right to access
safe, legal abortion.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017: A.1748 of 2017-2018 (Glick) Passed Assembly in 2017 and 2018
S.2796 of 2017-2018 (Krueger, Stewart-Cousins) Defeated in Health
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.