ALBANY, N.Y. (CN) — New York announced a bill Monday that would expand abortion access for people in and out of the state once the U.S. Supreme Court follows through with its vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“We know what happens when women are unable to control their own bodies and make their own choices and we will not go back to those dark times,” Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement this morning.
The bill dubbed the Reproductive Freedom and Equity Program comes amid an estimate from the Guttmacher Institute that, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, 32,000 women will be undergoing abortions in New York — whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 7,000 such procedures here in 2019.
But lawmakers say health care providers don't have the infrastructure to meet the expected demand when New York sees an influx of people crossing state lines for abortions. Their bill would provide more funding to health care providers and give more grants to nonprofit organization that would cover travel and lodging costs for those traveling.
New Yorkers who cannot afford to pay for the abortion would also benefit from such funding, regardless of their insurance status, the legislation's sponsor, Senator Cordell Cleare, touted Monday.
“Health care is a fundamental human right and abortion is an essential aspect of women’s health care,” said Cleare. “I am proud to sponsor new legislation, The Reproductive Freedom and Equity Program, that will ensure that in New York we proactively protect, support, and fund all aspects of women’s health care including comprehensive abortion services. We will not be subject to the arbitrary whims of a politicized Supreme Court, nor can we fund health care services via private fundraising. Our women deserve better, and justice and equity demand it!”
Andrea Miller, president at the National Institute for Reproductive Health, voiced support for the legislation.
“The Reproductive Freedom and Equity Fund would be a critically needed, proactive step to create real access to abortion care, at a time when we need it the most,” Miller said. “With half the states in the country poised to ban abortion, New York providers will face tremendous obstacles in providing the care that people need — both New Yorkers and all those who will travel to our state for care.”
The Center for Reproductive Rights has estimated that the overturning of Roe would trigger abortion bans in 24 states. Though a majority of Americans say abortion should be legal everywhere in all or most cases, many states have been crafting new restrictions on the practice in the expectation that the Supreme Court's conservative supermajority will throw out the 50-year precedent.
Shortly after a draft opinion from the Supreme Court showing it would do just that leaked last week, Oklahoma passed a law that banning abortion at six weeks — a point at which a woman might only begin to suspect she is pregnant — with no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
At least 10 other states including Mississippi, Missouri and Idaho all have “trigger laws” that would ban abortions immediately if Roe is overturned.
Abortion has been legal in New York since 1970, and neighboring states Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey all have laws protecting abortion access.
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