Issues

All individuals deserve equal access to safe, legal abortion, no matter their identity, background, or ability to afford care. In New York we must ensure that individuals living in, or forced to travel to, the state can safely access abortion care given the ever-changing abortion access landscape.

For years, New York elected leaders have failed to adequately invest in the state’s sexual and reproductive health care ecosystem, limiting many providers’ ability to provide the care New Yorkers deserve. The longstanding under-investment in care, combined with soaring costs, workforce shortages, the effects of the COVID pandemic, and care restrictions imposed in the wake of the Dobbs decision have forced providers like Planned Parenthood to make tough decisions to maintain our operations. Continued attacks by hostile elected officials on the state and federal levels also threaten our ability to provide care. To ensure access to care for New Yorkers, New York elected leaders must make broad investments in sexual and reproductive health care. This includes providing unrestricted grant funding for medication abortion care and care later in pregnancy, increasing annual abortion access grant funding, and increasing the state’s family planning grant.

Equitable access to contraception and preventive care offers a range of benefits. Along with pregnancy prevention, it reduces pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality rates and lessens a person’s risk of developing certain reproductive cancers. Contraception should be accessible, affordable, and covered by all insurance.

Despite legal protections, aggressive anti-abortion protester activity and intense police presence at protests present 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.

Black mothers are 3 to 4 times more likely to die as a result of pregnancy complications than white mothers, due to systemic racism and economic inequity. We advocate for equitable maternal health care that ensures 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.

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, New York must ensure that both individuals forced to travel to the state and those living here are protected and that providers can provide the critical care they need without retribution. While New York and localities throughout the state have moved swiftly to pass legislation that protects and expands abortion care, more work needs to be done to protect patients and providers in the ever-changing abortion access landscape.

Individuals who are incarcerated and those reintegrating into their communities face disproportionate health care disparities, including inadequate access to sexual and reproductive health care and counseling. This is especially true for individuals from marginalized communities. All people impacted by the carceral system in New York must have access to the health care they need.

The inclusion of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the NYS Constitution presents new pathways to protect New Yorkers ability to access sexual and reproductive health care. The ERA will broadly prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, disability, or sex including pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, protecting many historically marginalized communities. 

Limited-Service Pregnancy Centers or 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 and ensure individuals can safely access care from a trusted provider. 

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.

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

All New Yorkers should have access to quality health care from a trusted provider free of the burden of exorbitant health care cost. Passing the New York Health Act will help guarantee universal, single-payer healthcare to all those living in New York and will be instrumental to addressing health inequities, especially for marginalized communities. 

Sexual health 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 need K-12 comprehensive sexuality education that is age-appropriate, medically accurate, culturally responsive, and gender inclusive.

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, ensuring access to paid parental leave, postpartum care, and a fair living wage.

In New York, we must ensure that all individuals can safely access sexual and reproductive health care and information. That includes people with disabilities. Historically, people with disabilities have faced discrimination when navigating health care systems. PPGNY continues to work to provide equitable health care to all and address the harmful legacies of systemic racism, ableism, and all forms of bias, and we support legislation that safeguards access to people with disabilities. 

Low-wage jobs and the gender pay gap both undermine the well-being of women, their families, and their communities. New Yorkers 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.

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.

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.

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, 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.

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.