Pictured are participants in a women’s march from Jamestown held in October 2021. Two bills introduced this week would strengthen New York’s official position as a proponent of abortion rights. PJ Folder Photo

The possible end of Roe v. Wade as the law of the land elicits a response from New York lawmakers.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in December in Mississippi’s attempt to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade guaranteeing a woman’s right to abortion. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Mississippi is asking the High Court to uphold its ban on most abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy approved in 2018 but blocked after a federal court challenge. The state told the court it should overturn Roe and the 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that prevents states from banning abortion before viability, the time when a fetus can survive outside the womb, around 24 weeks into pregnancy.

A decision in the Mississippi case has not been officially announced, but a leaked draft notice said the court is likely to overturn Roe v. Wade unless one of the Supreme Court justices changes his mind.

Last year, the Supreme Court allowed a Texas law to take effect that bans abortions after heart activity is detected, around 6 weeks into the pregnancy, before some women even know they are are pregnant. The law is unusual in that it allows private citizens to sue people who may have facilitated a prohibited abortion. The court, split 5-4, did not rule on the law’s constitutionality, but instead declined to block enforcement while a challenge to the law plays out in court.

Two new bills introduced this week would bolster New York’s official position as a proponent of abortion rights. A.10148, sponsored by Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, D-East Elmhurst, would establish the Reproductive Freedom and Equity program to provide funding to New York abortion providers and nonprofit organizations to increase access to abortion care.

No amount of funding is included in the text of the bill, with funding to be debated during annual state budget discussions. Gonzalez-Rojas offers strong privacy protections for organizations accepting state money. Groups would not be permitted to give out the name, address, photograph, driver’s license number, email address, phone number or any other personally identifying information of patients.

“With the Supreme Court poised to strike down or significantly weaken federal protections around the right to abortion care, New York must be prepared to respond to the dramatically changing national landscape of access to abortion care. abortion”, Gonzalez-Rojas wrote in his legislative justification. “The Reproductive Freedom Equity Fund would create a mechanism to generate grants to improve access to abortion in New York. The Reproductive Freedom Equity Fund would create a mechanism to generate grants to improve access to abortion in New York. … Specifically, this funding would support provider capacity building in the event Roe v. Wade, would fund unpaid care for those without coverage or for those whose coverage is not usable and would address the practical support needs of those facing barriers to abortion care. ”

Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, D-Bronx, proposes the Non-Interference with Reproductive Health Promotion and Travel Exercise Act (S.9039). Assemblyman Chris Burdick, D-Mount Kisco, introduced a companion bill (A.10094) in the state Assembly.

Biaggi’s proposal would amend the state’s civil rights law to create a section titled Unlawful Interference with Protected Rights. A right would be established to obtain an abortion, and interfering with an abortion could result in criminal charges or civil suits against a person in any federal or state court. The bill sets out the rights protected under the proposed new section of the law to include the right to obtain reproductive health care, including abortion, and the right to obtain medical treatment, including hormone therapy or other gender-related therapies.

The actions would have a six-year statute of limitations and would have to be brought in the state Supreme Court. The bill also sets out defenses that a person could not invoke, including ignorance or mistake of law, a person’s belief that the Hate Fire Act is unconstitutional, reliance on a court decision that has been overturned on appeal, recourse to any decision of a state or federal court. that does not bind the court where the action is brought or an allegation that enforcing the Hate Fire Act against a person would violate the constitutional rights of third parties.

“In light of the leaked majority opinion of Project SCOTUS overturning Roe v. Wade, New York must remain strong as a safe haven for people seeking to exercise their rights,” said Biaggi. “This bill will help protect anyone who has an abortion in New York from unlawful interference with their rights. We must act immediately to provide all possible protection to those seeking care, including passing this bill. of law.

Both bills are in addition to other legislation pending in the state legislature. Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, D-Tarrytown, wants the state Constitution to include a new section that states that an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to freedom and dignity to determine one’s own life course and should not be denied or violated.

“Amending the State Constitution to provide for an individual’s right to personal reproductive freedom will help secure reproductive freedoms for our citizens and further support the fundamental importance of reproductive freedom in our State,” Abinanti wrote in his legislative justification.

In 2019, the state enacted the Reproductive Health Act, which codified abortion rights established in Roe v. Wade. Legislation has made abortion a “fundamental right” under the state constitution. The law also added a “health” exception to New York law making abortions legal in the last three months of a pregnancy to protect the patient “life or health”. Previously, the law only allowed late abortions to protect a patient’s health. “life.” The law also legalized abortion after 24 weeks in the absence of fetal viability.