Statement by BPCLC Co-Chairs One Year After The Dobbs Decision

 Albany – On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court cast aside almost 50 years of legal precedents when it issued the devastating ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, leaving the regulation of abortion up to each state.
 
The Dobbs ruling had immediate implications for access to abortion services, and barriers to obtaining care have increased dramatically during the past twelve months. Residents of states with trigger laws and abortion bans have had their reproductive freedom stripped away, even though abortion care is essential health care and 85% of individuals in the U.S. support abortion remaining legal and accessible.
 
As has been reported, abortion bans have made it necessary for tens of thousands people to travel out-of-state for abortion care at significant cost. Implementing bans has placed the health, fertility, and lives of pregnant people at risk, while forcing health care providers to choose between providing necessary medical care and facing arrest, hefty fines, or loss of licensure. We were forewarned by Justices Sotomayor, Breyer, and Kagan in their joint dissent that the right to contraception, same-sex intimacy, and same-sex marriage are also in jeopardy.  
 
"New York has long been a leader in protecting reproductive freedom," said BPCLC Co-Chair, Senator Liz Krueger. "Thanks to the support of the Governor, the Attorney General, and the Legislature, the state provides a safe haven where New Yorkers and residents of other states can access abortion services." 

"The Legislature, this session, took a bold stand for reproductive justice for ALL, New Yorkers and persons across the country," said BPCLC Co-Chair, Assembly Member Karines Reyes, R.N. "I am honored to serve in this legislative body and as co-leader of this Caucus, committed to protecting human dignity and liberty."
 
BPCLC members have introduced leading-edge legislation to effectively address new and evolving threats to reproductive freedom following the Dobbs decision. Building on last year’s “shield” legislation, the following are bills introduced by BPCLC members in 2023 that have passed both Houses:

• S.108-A/A.1283: Sponsored by BPCLC Co-Chair, Senator Krueger and Assembly Member Seawright, this bill provides for equality of rights and protection against discrimination by updating the New York Constitution’s Bill of Rights to reflect the evolution of concepts of equal rights and protections from discrimination that have occurred over the last eighty years.
  
  
• S.1066-B/A.1077-B: Sponsored by Senator Mayer and BPCLC Co-Chair, Assembly Member Reyes, this legislation builds upon the package of laws the Legislature passed last year which protect abortion and reproductive services by explicitly addressing health services provided by licensed New York providers and physicians via telehealth. In doing so, it provides the strongest protections possible for New York providers serving patients in other states via telehealth by ensuring that New York will not cooperate with out-of-state interference, including demands for extradition.
  
  

• S.1213-B/A.1395-C: Sponsored by Assembly Member Epstein and Senator Cleare, this legislation requires SUNY and CUNY to provide medication abortion services at all on-campus student health centers at colleges or universities within the SUNY and CUNY systems, or to contract with a third party to provide services.
  
  
• S.3609-B/A.3113-A: Sponsored by Senator Webb and Assembly Member Clark, this bill requires that Health Equity Impact Assessments consider the availability and provision of reproductive health services and maternal health care, before the Department of Health can approve any proposed construction, establishment, mergers, acquisitions, closures, or reductions in hospital/health-related services.
  
  

• S.1043-A/A.1060-A: Sponsored by Senator Stavisky and Assembly Member Paulin, this bill will increase access to contraceptive drugs for women in New York State. Pharmacists who have completed the required training will be authorized to dispense a non-patient specific regimen of FDA- approved, self-administered hormonal contraceptives to individuals.
  
  

To view the complete list of BPCLC legislative goals, please click here.
 
One year ago, the right to have a safe and legal abortion was eliminated at the federal level. Anti-abortion groups and lawmakers have been unrelenting in their attacks on reproductive freedom, passing increasingly restrictive and punitive laws, challenging federal policies, and even dismantling democratic processes in order to achieve their ultimate goal of a national abortion ban. It is up New York and other states that protect reproductive freedom to help women who have lost their rights to obtain the abortion care they need. We must also fight hard to establish true reproductive freedom throughout the United States.
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The mission of the BPCLC is to protect reproductive rights across the state, and provide a voice for pro-choice state legislators in policy debates at both the state and national level. The Caucus includes 126 members of the NYS Senate and Assembly.
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