Issues

All individuals have the right to obtain a safe, legal abortion. Abortion should be covered by all insurances, including New York State Medicaid which helps  individuals who cannot otherwise afford it.

All New Yorkers deserve access to preventive health care, including contraception that is accessible, affordable, and covered by insurance.

Each year over 132,000 New Yorkers rely on PPGNY for sexual and reproductive health care services, including birth control, gynecological care, HIV testing, STD testing and treatment, breast and cervical cancer screenings, PrEP, vasectomy, and transgender hormone therapy. PPGNY relies on federal, state, and local funding and reimbursement to serve all New Yorkers regardless of insurance, immigration status, or income.

Comprehensive sexuality education provides young people with tools and resources they need to make healthy, informed decisions about their lives and well-being. Students in New York State (NYS) need K-12 comprehensive sexuality education that is age appropriate, medically accurate, culturally responsive, and gender inclusive.

Despite legal protections, aggressive protester activity is an ongoing challenge for reproductive health centers, sometimes delaying and disrupting a patient’s access to time-sensitive services. We must enforce and strengthen laws to protect an individual’s safe access to reproductive health care facilities.

A person’s immigration status should not hinder their access to health care services. We support expanding health insurance coverage to all immigrant New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status.

The rate of maternal mortality has been rising, with Black women especially at higher risk for pregnancy-related deaths and complications. These outcomes are preventable and we must keep them from happening. This includes ensuring pregnant people are able to give birth in a supportive environment of their choosing and have health coverage to ensure they are able to afford their care.

Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) continue to use deceptive tactics that mislead New Yorkers and discourage them from seeking licensed medical care. PPGNY advocates for stronger measures to hold CPCs accountable.

Access to high-speed internet remains a significant barrier to getting telehealth or virtual care. Affordable, reliable and universal telehealth services are vital to address health care access issues and disparities for both urban and rural communities. We support policies to invest in broadband-enabled telehealth services to improve health outcomes and address barriers to accessing necessary care while also reducing costs.

Sexual assault is a matter of public health and safety. PPGNY  supports measures to combat sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and other gender-based violence to protect all people’s health and well-being.

All young people deserve access to safe and confidential health care, including sexual and reproductive health care services at school-based health centers (SBHCs), and in foster care and shelters.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers often face barriers to health care, including discrimination, lack of insurance coverage, provider insensitivity, and lack of awareness of available resources. We support efforts to fight discrimination and improve health care access for the LGBQ + TGNC community.

Despite New York’s gains in reducing rates of HIV, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has concentrated in low-income communities of color. NYS needs greater legislative, regulatory, and budgetary resources to improve structural support systems and mitigate systemic HIV disparities.

Women in incarceration face disproportionate health care disparities, including inadequate access to sexual and reproductive health care and counseling. All people incarcerated in New York must have access to the health care they need.

Individuals who decide to parent must have the resources needed to raise their family and care for their well-being, including affordable childcare, workplace protections for pregnant and parenting employees, and a fair living wage.

Low-wage jobs and the gender pay gap both undermine the well-being of women, their families, and their communities. Our patients deserve a fair living wage that allows them to afford health care, education, housing, childcare, transportation and other needs to care for themselves and their families and to shape their own futures. PPGNY  supports a fair living wage for all workers, removing the tipped sub-minimum wage, and equal pay for equal work.

For Black people and other communities of color, there is no real bodily autonomy and reproductive justice unless they have the freedom to live without the constant and overarching fear of persecution and violence. We support investing in community-based solutions, education, health care and public health instead of militarizing police forces, especially when so many other essential services are starved for resources.