Not only was New York one of the first states to legalize abortion, Spitzer just announced his introduction of the Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act.
Here’s what I’ve heard:
In brief, the bill will address the three main problems with New York’s current abortion law:
o The bill would take the abortion legislation out of New York’s criminal statutes and put it in the Public Health Law, where other health-related regulations reside.
o The bill would include a health exception for post-viability abortions where continuing a pregnancy would present a risk to a woman’s health. Currently, New York law only contains an exception when a woman’s life is at risk.
o The bill would allow for any competent and trained health provider to provide abortion care within his or her scope of practice. This would codify and permit advanced practice clinicians, such as physician assistants, nurse practitioners and nurse midwives, to provide early abortion care. Currently, New York law only permits “duly licensed physicians” to provide abortion services.
