Authorizes the commissioner of health to conduct a study and issue a report examining the unmet health and resource needs facing pregnant women in New York and the impact of limited service pregnancy centers on the ability of women to obtain accurate, non-coercive health care information and timely access to a comprehensive range of reproductive and sexual health care services.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5499
SPONSOR: Glick TITLE OF BILL:
An act authorizing the commissioner of health to conduct a study and
issue a report examining the unmet health and resource needs facing
pregnant women in New York and the impact of limited service pregnancy
centers on the ability of women to obtain accurate, non-coercive health
care information and timely access to a comprehensive range of reproduc-
tive and sexual health care services
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Authorizes the Commissioner of Health to conduct a study and issue a
report examining the unmet health and resource needs facing pregnant
women in New York and the impact of limited services pregnancy centers
on the ability of women to obtain accurate, non-coercive health care
information and timely access to a comprehensive range of reproductive
and sexual health care services in alignment with their health care
needs and that supports personal decision-making.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Defines "limited services pregnancy center." Section 2:
Authorization of study and study scope.
Section 3: Study timeline and taskforce structure. The study will
commence no later than six months following the effective date of this
act.
Section 4: Effective Date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Decisions about pregnancy are time sensitive - whether a woman chooses
to continue her pregnancy and needs prenatal care or wants to end her
pregnancy and needs an abortion. If a woman becomes pregnant and chooses
to continue the pregnancy, having a healthy pregnancy is critical both
to her health and to ensuring positive pregnancy outcomes.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges that
comprehensive prenatal care begins as soon as a woman decides to become
pregnant. Like prenatal care, delayed access to abortion and emergency
contraception poses a threat to public health. Abortion is one of the
safest health care procedures, but delays in accessing abortion increase
the risk of complications, as well as financial burdens, and may elimi-
nate a women's ability to obtain care altogether, severely limiting her
reproductive health options.
New York State has prioritized improving access to adequate and early
prenatal care, timely abortion care, and emergency contraception, as
well as, and in connection to, reducing maternal mortality and morbidity
rates and disparities. To that end, identifying gaps in health care and
unmet resource and pregnancy-support needs, in particular for low-income
communities, is critical to achieving optimal health outcomes for women
who are or may be pregnant. In New York there exist unlicensed entities
that offer limited pregnancy-related services, such as pregnancy tests
or ultrasonography, run by organizations that have the core goal of
persuading pregnant women and teens to choose to continue the pregnancy.
Research by the Government Accountability Office and by advocacy organ-
izations in many states, including New York, have documented that some
such entities engage in misleading or deceptive practices. Some of these
practices include providing inaccurate medical information, promising
monetary support, or imitating reproductive health clinics so as to lead
women to believe they are either receiving comprehensive counseling on
their options or are in fact in a licensed facility that provides or
refers for comprehensive reproductive health care services. In past
studies, some of these entities provide inaccurate, misleading, or stig-
matizing information about abortion and contraception, or even about a
woman's own health status or pregnancy.
The State of New York respects the right of individuals to express and
promote their opinions and beliefs, including those on pregnancy and
abortion. In addition, the legislature also finds that the State has a
strong interest in ensuring that individuals seeking medical care and
pregnancy-related services are able to find these services seamlessly
without interference or coercion.
Meeting the health and resource needs of pregnant women, as well as the
potential negative impact of certain practices by unlicensed facilities
that offer limited pregnancy services, are matters of state concern and
understanding those practices, how to address any resulting harms, and
how to support pregnant women's unfulfilled health care and resource
needs are important exercises of the legislature's constitutional
mandate to protect the public health.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2020 - Passed Assembly
2019 - Ordered to Third Reading
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
