Issue Position: Reproductive Justice

Issue Position

Reproductive rights are under attack, and Roe v. Wade is at risk of being overturned. New York's abortion laws, which have not been changed since 1970, are badly outdated and inadequate. Maintaining the right to abortion services is not enough. New Yorkers need reproductive justice. That means access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare--including abortion and contraception, but also prenatal, pregnancy, and postpartum care. It means the right to not have children and the right to have children safely and on one's own terms, and the right to raise those children in safe, healthy, uplifting, and truly inclusive communities. As a State Senator, I will fight for:
Passage of the Reproductive Health Act, which will update New York's abortion laws, expanding abortion rights and removing abortion from the state's criminal code.
Comprehensive, free access to abortion and contraception for ALL women.
Coverage for the full range of evidence-based medical professionals--doulas, midwives, physicians, and nurses--who attend to women in pregnancy and childbirth, so that women can access culturally appropriate care that reflects their preferences for how and where they want to give birth.
Increased support for prenatal and postpartum care, so that women have continuity of care from pregnancy through childbirth and the months after, which is key to improving health outcomes for women and babies.
Establishment of a maternal mortality review board to revise and implement protocols that have been shown to reduce infant and maternal mortality and to address the epidemic of deaths among infants and women of color.

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