Assemblywoman Jenne: Assembly passes bills to safeguard reproductive health rights

Assemblywoman Addie A.E. Jenne, D-Theresa, said she helped pass two pieces of legislation Tuesday to defend women’s reproductive health rights in New York State.

The bills affirm a woman’s right to choose (A.1748) and ensure contraception is covered by insurers at no cost to the consumer (A.1378).

“For far too long and with recent intensity, those who have no business doing so have tried dictating what a woman should do with her own body,” Assemblywoman Jenne, formerly known as Assemblywoman Russell, said.

“The Assembly Majority is sending a clear message that we stand with all women and will fight to ensure New Yorkers have access to critical health care services. That fight is even more important today than it has been in the recent past,” she added.

One measure, the Reproductive Health Act, protects a woman’s right to an abortion in New York State (A.1738).

The other bill, the Comprehensive Contraception Coverage Act, requires health insurance companies to cover all FDA-approved contraceptives prescribed by a medical provider at no cost to consumers (A.1378).

Assemblywoman Jenne has long fought for quality health care for all, but she said in light of the growing national concern over the attacks on a woman’s right to choose, New York must stand up to protect these fundamental constitutional rights.

“We have come too far to let decades of progress be undone,” Assemblywoman Jenne said. “I’ll keep fighting for women in every corner of this state so they can continue to make their own reproductive health care decisions.”

She pointed out recent studies have shown the abortion rate in the United States is at its lowest level since the early 1970s, and she said the study's authors credited access to affordable long-term contraceptives as one of the major factors behind that decline.

"We also know providing women with access to affordable contraceptives also makes good fiscal sense for our health care system," Assemblywoman Jenne said.

A study by the Brookings Institute, for example, suggested every dollar spent on providing women with long-term reversible contraceptives saves more than $7 in health care and other costs associated with unplanned pregnancies.

"It is unfortunate Congress is preparing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a move that means many residents of the North Country will be faced with losing affordable family planning coverage. This is another action that would hit our middle-class and working poor families the hardest," according to Assemblywoman Jenne.

The Reproductive Health Act (A.1748, Glick) updates New York State law with protections recognized by the courts under the New York Constitution and United States Constitution.

The bill updates portions of the Penal Law which have not been updated since 1970, three years before the Roe v. Wade decision. This update acknowledges that pregnancy termination is a lawful procedure and eliminates undue burdens on women seeking to exercise the right to make reproductive decisions.

The Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act (A.1378, Cahill), introduced by New York Attorney General Eric T. Scheiderman, would codify the requirement under the Affordable Care Act that all health insurers provide cost-free contraceptive coverage as a part of their insurance policies.

Under the proposal, insurance companies would have to provide cost-free coverage for at least one type of all FDA-approved contraceptives, including emergency contraception.

The bill would also apply to voluntary sterilization procedures, extending coverage to both men and women, and would prohibit insurance companies from using medical management review restrictions to delay contraceptive coverage. In addition, the measure would also allow patients to receive a 12-month supply of contraception at a time.