Legislative Priorities

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.  

• FY25 Budget Ask – Increase Medicaid Reimbursement Rate on Medication Abortion Care - was not included in final FY25 budget

• FY25 Budget Ask – Maintain Abortion Access Grant Funding - final FY25 included $26 million in Abortion Access Grant Funding ($1 million increase from FY 24)

• Priority Legislation: A.361A (Gonzalez-Rojas)/S.348B (Cleare) – Reproductive Freedom and Equity Grant Program

  • Passed in Senate – January 2024. Policy language was included in final FY25 budget, finalizing the creation of the program. No further advocacy required.

Equitable access to contraception and preventive care offer 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. All New Yorkers deserve access to the contraception method of their choosing and preventive care, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. 

• FY25 Budget Ask – Investment increase of 4% to the Family Planning Grant - funding remained stagnant from FY24 budget

Each year, approximately 27,000 New Yorkers rely on Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic (PPHP) for sexual and reproductive health care services, including birth control, gynecological care, HIV testing and prevention, STI testing and treatment, breast and cervical cancer screenings, PrEP and PEP, vasectomy, and transgender/non-binary hormone therapy. PPHP relies on federal, state, and local funding and reimbursement to serve all New Yorkers regardless of insurance, immigration status, or income. 

• FY25 Budget Ask – Investment increase of 4% to the Family Planning Grant - funding remained stagnant from FY24 budget

Sexual 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 sex education from grades K-12 that is age-appropriate, medically accurate, comprehensive, culturally responsive, and gender inclusive. 

• Priority Legislation: A.4604 (Gonzalez-Rojas) – Comprehensive sexuality education 

  • ​​​​​​​Assembly bill did not move through committee; Senate companion bill not introduced

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. 

• Call for Suffolk, Rockland, and Putnam counties to put in local protections, like Westchester County’s Reproductive Health Care Facilities Access Act 

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 prison system in New York must have access to the health care they need. 

Supportive Legislation 

• S.9816 (Salazar)/A.2155 (L. Rosenthal) - Prohibiting the Use of Restraints on People who are Pregnant, Birthing and Post Pregnancy  

  • This legislation was recently introduced in the Senate by Senator Salazar and failed to move out of committee in either house before the end of session.

• S.9817 (Salazar)/A.3483 (L. Rosenthal) - Supporting Breastfeeding and Nursery Access for Incarcerated Parents  

  • The bill moved through the Assembly Corrections Committee but failed to advance out of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee before the end of session. In the Senate, the legislation was introduced by Senator Salazar on May 31, 2024, but failed to advance out of committee.

• S.7132A (Salazar)/A.7360 (Kelles) the Compassion and Reproductive Equity (CARE) Act

  • Passed in Senate – June 2024

Currently, New York State’s Constitution is woefully outdated and inadequate in protecting New Yorkers from discrimination and promoting equality. The Constitution fails to protect historically marginalized groups, including individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, women, and pregnant people from facing discrimination and successfully proving claims of discrimination. Including an Equal Rights Amendment in the state’s Constitution would broadly prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, age, national origin, disability, or sex including pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. 

• The NYS Equal Rights Amendment will be on the 2024 General Election Ballot. Learn more about the Equal Rights Amendment here. 

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. 

Supportive Legislation 

• A.5297 (Paulin)/S.6616 (May) - Prohibiting Interference with Care    

  • This bill was set on the Assembly Floor Calendar on June 6, but did not come to the floor for a vote, and failed to advance out of the Senate Health Committee. 

• A.4983-D(Rosenthal)/S.158-E (Kruger) - New York Health Information Privacy Act 

  • Passed in Senate – June 2024

• A.8884 (Lunsford)/S.7879 (Fernandez) – Electronic Health Records Privacy

  • This legislation was introduced for the first time this legislative session and failed to advance out of the Health Committee in either house. We are working with the sponsors on some amendments and hope to see positive progression next year.

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. 

Supportive Legislation 

• A.6761 (Reyes) - Young People’s’ Access to Health Care  

  • Assembly bill did not move through committee; Senate companion bill not introduced

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. 

Priority Legislation 

• S.2237A (Rivera)/A.3020A (Gonzalez-Rojas) – Essential Plan for All 

  • Passed in Senate – May 2024, was not acted on in the Assembly

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.  

Supportive Legislation 

• A.8205 (McDonald)/S.7740 (Webb) - Review Process for Changes to Maternity Services 

  • The bill was placed on the Senate Floor Calendar on February 13, but did not come to the floor for a vote, and failed to advance out of the Assembly Health Committee. 

• S.380 (Cleare) – Mandating coverage for doulas in private insurance in NYS 

  • The bill was referred to the Senate Women’s Issues Committee and Assembly Insurance Committee on January 3 but failed to advance out of Committee in either house. 

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. 

Priority Legislation 

• S.1003A (Hinchey)/A.733 (Rozic) – Hospital Transparency

  • Passed in Senate – January 2024; passed in Assembly – January 2024

• A.7687 (Bronson)/S.7506 (Hoylman-Sigal) - Protecting Gender-Affirming Care

  • Passed in Senate – June 2024, failed to advance out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee

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. 

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. PPHP Action Fund advocates for stronger measures to hold CPCs accountable and ensure individuals can safely access care from a trusted provider. Learn more about Crisis Pregnancy Centers here. 

New York State law contains over a dozen criminal and civil provisions that punish adults who consent to sell or buy sex, as well as those who help and depend on them, not to mention the numerous prohibitions and punishments for prostitution in a wide variety of laws. Trying to stop sex work between consenting adults should not be the business of our criminal justice system. Criminalizing sex work criminalizes a means of survival for marginalized people, and it makes LGBTQ people especially vulnerable to police harassment and arrest based on their gender expression and sexuality. 

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