TAKE ACTION
Urge your reps to strengthen legal protections for gender-affirming care & reproductive care
Abortion and gender-affirming care are under escalating attack across the country. Ask your State Senator and Assemblymember to co-sponsor A5480/S4914, a bill that would address current gaps in New York State shield laws to ensure that those who seek or provide sexual and reproductive health care and gender-affirming care are protected.
Look up your Assemblymember and State Senator
Check if they already co-sponsor the bill: Assembly bill A5480 / Senate bill S4914
If they already co-sponsor the bill, call and say thanks.
If not, use the script below to urge them to sign on and support the bill’s passage:
Call script: Hi, my name is {Name} and I am a resident of {city/town/zip code}. I am reaching out today regarding {A5480 or S4914}, legislation that would strengthen our state’s existing shield laws to better protect people who receive, provide, or assist with obtaining gender-affirming and reproductive health care. I am asking for the {Assemblymember or Senator} to co-sponsor the bill and support its passage this session.
For more info on this bill, see BKForge’s memo of support
Act now to safeguard our health info
Make one call TODAY to prevent Trump and his extremist allies from using personal health data to punish New Yorkers who provide, seek, or support abortion or gender-affirming care!
The NY Health Information Privacy Act will ensure that New Yorkers—not bad actors or government entities—have control over our intimate health info. The legislature passed this bill in January. Now Governor Hochul is threatening a veto!
Call Governor Hochul (518-474-8390)
Call script: Hi, my name is {Name} and I am a resident of {city/town/zip code}. I am calling to urge Governor Hochul to sign the New York Health Information Privacy Act, S.929/A.2141, which will give New Yorkers control over their electronic health information. Now more than ever, New Yorkers must be able to get the care they need without fear. They should also be able to search for information about their health, and use apps and devices to track and maintain their health without fearing their private data could fall into the wrong hands. {This is important to me because....} Thank you.
Join BKForge’s legislative task force
We meet virtually the first Monday of each month at 7:30 pm. Email contactbkforge@gmail.com to join!
Join us to advocate for BKForge’s legislative and budget priorities, and to plan actions such as tabling, call relays and scripts, public forums and teach-ins, and memos of support. New task force members are always welcome, whether you’re new to legislative advocacy or an old pro!
▼ 2025 legislative priorities ▼
Buffer Zone Bill
Bill numbers: A6462
S9668 (2023-2024 bill number)
We urge the legislature to pass this bill, which would require that there be a 100-foot buffer zone around the entrance of every reproductive health care facility offering abortion in New York State. This bill would expand upon the 15-foot buffer zone mandated by New York City law, ensuring that patients statewide are able to safely and comfortably access abortion care, free from aggressive protestors. Any harassment within the buffer zone—including obstruction of the clinic premises, or following patients or health care providers—would be punishable under this bill.
NYS Abortion Clinical Training Program
(formerly known as Reproductive Health Services Training and Education)
Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade, there are now more states that restrict access to abortion care than states that protect access. This has severe and far-reaching implications for not only obtaining abortion care and receiving treatment for pregnancy complications, but also for ensuring that health care practitioners are trained to provide essential reproductive health care services. The number of practitioners in New York who provide abortion care or train other providers will only continue to dwindle if the State does not invest in training. We urge the legislature and Governor Hochul to establish a reproductive health services training and education grant program and include $10 million in funding in the state budget for this important program, which would ensure that health care providers receive adequate training in abortion care and related reproductive health services.
There are areas throughout NY State that have an acute shortage of health care practitioners who are trained in performing abortion care early and/or later in pregnancy. New Yorkers who live in these areas are unable to access care in their communities, particularly in rural areas, and may need to travel hours to access abortion services. The training program would help to mitigate these abortion provider shortages by prioritizing practitioners for training who would provide care in parts of the state that have such shortages.
Training would be provided to health care practitioners who are authorized to perform abortion in the State of New York: Advanced Practice Clinicians – Physician Assistants, Licensed Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners; licensed Physicians such as Family Medicine Physicians, Primary Care Physicians, Emergency Medicine Physicians, and Pediatricians; and residents or interns who are employed by a hospital or enrolled in an accredited graduate medical program. The training program would also issue grants to address practical support needs of eligible training recipients and to remove barriers to essential training and promote a more diverse and inclusive health care workforce.
Health Information System Segmentation
We urge the legislature to pass this bill requiring electronic health record companies to create the ability to segment electronic health records and suppress sensitive health information at a patient’s direction. This would enable patients to reap the benefits of electronic health records without risking that information about their abortion, gender-affirming care, or other sensitive health care will be shared against their will and used against them.
Electronic health records improve the quality of health care by ensuring that every provider who sees a patient has access to their medical history. But, electronic health records also make a patient’s entire medical record—including records about sensitive health care—available to all providers with access to the system. And, by default, the information in a patient’s electronic health record can be shared across state lines automatically. As other states increasingly criminalize abortion care and gender-affirming care, this automatic sharing can put New York patients who travel or move to ban states, as well as the New York providers who care for them, at risk of criminalization.
Healthy and Safe Students Act
(formerly known as Comprehensive Sex Ed)
New York currently has no statewide learning standard for comprehensive sexuality education, which means students across the state are receiving inadequate, biased, or misleading sex ed—or none at all. Comprehensive, evidence-based, inclusive sex ed has been strongly associated with reductions in STIs, unintended pregnancies, sexual and gender-based violence, and bullying of LGBTQIA+ students, as well as with improvements in academic performance. By passing this bill, New York would ensure that our young people receive age-appropriate, necessary skills to foster healthy relationships and that our educators are equipped with the professional development and tools needed to guide their students. All K-12 students in the state should have access to comprehensive sex ed led by teachers who are adequately trained and knowledgeable. We urge immediate passage of this bill to mandate comprehensive sex ed statewide.
Maternal Health, Dignity, and Consent Act
We urge the legislature to pass the Maternal Health, Dignity, and Consent Act, which would require informed consent to drug test pregnant people and newborns—a critical component of supporting healthy pregnancies, infants, and families. Giving pregnant and postpartum people the information they need to make informed decisions about drug testing and screening is vital to preserving the patient-provider relationship. When patient-provider trust is broken, maternal-fetal health is at greater risk because pregnant people can be afraid to access prenatal care, with potentially devastating consequences.
The bill was drafted with the input of service providers and impacted people who have been forced to submit to drug testing without informed consent. This practice can lead to forced family separation; in some cases, newborns are removed from parents before they have even been discharged from the hospital—even though research shows that newborns have better health outcomes if they remain with their parents. This testing disproportionately harms Black and brown communities, who may be racially profiled by providers. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics both recommend the practice of obtaining specific and informed consent prior to administering a biological drug test.
To learn more, visit informedconsentny.com and find resources from NYCLU, the Bronx Defenders, Pregnancy Justice, Drug Policy Alliance, and others in support of the bill.
Compassion and Reproductive Equity (CARE) Act
We call on the legislature to pass this bill, which would amend current correction law and create a standard of care for incarcerated pregnant and postnatal individuals and their babies. Currently, the rights of pregnant individuals are compromised by the policies and practices of correctional institutions and facilities in New York State. The CARE Act would address the health disparities faced by incarcerated pregnant individuals and guarantee pre and postnatal care for both the birthing parent and the baby.
The current standard of care is vague and limited in its scope—failing the population of pre and postnatal incarcerated individuals in New York State. The CARE Act, above all else, would ensure and protect the human rights of incarcerated pregnant individuals, incarcerated birthing parents of children, and their children.
Learn more from New Hour’s resources and use their form to sign on as an individual supporter.
Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act
Bill numbers: A8833 / S8375 (2023-2024 bill numbers)
In 2021-2022, the US saw the first annual increase in infant mortality rates in 20 years, and at a higher rate among Black women (source: Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System). Currently, women of color—particularly Black women—exhibit a maternal mortality rate of 3-4 times that of Caucasian women. Evidence demonstrates that provider bias holds more responsibility for maternal illness and death in pregnancy care, as well as child outcomes, than other factors including access to health care, socioeconomic status, and physical health among Black women. However, providers in New York involved in this care are not presently required to undergo any specific implicit bias training or testing, nor does there exist a system to track incidents related to bias or stereotyping.
We urge the legislature to pass the Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act, which would amend state public health law to implement an implicit bias training and follow-up program for all health care providers involved in perinatal care. It would also require hospitals to provide written information regarding patient rights, including how to seek legal counsel in case of pregnancy-related injury or death, and require information related to pregnancy to be included on death certificates if known.
Coverage for All
We urge the legislature to pass this bill, which would expand health insurance access for New Yorkers who are excluded from eligibility for coverage because of their immigration status. This bill would direct the Commissioner of Health to seek approval from the federal government for the use of surplus reserves in the basic health plan trust fund, which supports the New York State Essential Plan, to support individuals covered under the 1332 state innovation waiver program. The goal of the state legislation is to improve access to care by expanding eligibility for certain publicly subsidized programs for individuals who currently face barriers to health care coverage due to their immigration status.
Learn more from the #Coverage4All campaign and sign their petition in support of the bill.
Strengthening Legal Protections for Gender-Affirming Care & Reproductive Health Care
We urge the legislature to pass this bill to expand legal protections for anyone who receives or provides reproductive health care or gender-affirming care in New York State. The bill would strengthen New York’s shield laws by aligning protections for gender-affirming care with the existing protections for sexual and reproductive health care. It would also extend our existing medical malpractice and professional licensure shield laws to protect the full range of providers engaged in the provision of sexual and reproductive health care and gender-affirming care. The legislation would prohibit compliance with voluntary investigative demands from hostile actors in New York State and give the Attorney General the authority to intervene when such demands are issued. Finally, the bill would prevent the extradition of gender-affirming care providers, seekers, guardians, and helpers; ensure that children cannot be separated from their parent/guardian for assisting with their child’s gender-affirming care; and allow New York courts to hear such cases.
Abortion and gender-affirming care are under escalating attack across the country. New York must address the current gaps in our shield law protections and fortify our legal defenses to better protect reproductive health care and gender-affirming care providers, patients, and supporters. This bill’s protections are especially critical to preserving the rights and well-being of transgender youth and their caregivers. Passing this legislation would send a clear message that New York will not engage in other states’ attempts to stigmatize and criminalize anyone involved with the delivery of gender-affirming care.
Reforms to Paid Medical Leave program, aka Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI)
BKForge applauds the State Senate for passing this bill. We now call on the Assembly to do the same without delay.
New York’s current paid medical leave is woefully inadequate. This bill would introduce key updates so that New York’s paid family and medical leave program would better meet the needs of New Yorkers.
Under the current system, New York workers dealing with a serious health condition—be it a complicated pregnancy or birth, a recent cancer diagnosis, an-off-the-job-injury, or another condition requiring time off work—receive a meager $170 dollars a week. This unacceptable amount has been unchanged since 1989! While it may have been reasonable then, no one can live on $170 per week in New York in 2025. What’s more, New Yorkers could lose their job and health insurance coverage while out on leave. New Yorkers work hard and deserve a reliable, affordable medical leave program.
This important bill would raise the wage replacement rate from $170 dollars a week to 67% percent of a worker’s weekly pay (capped at $1,177.32 per week) on par with NY’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program. It would also provide workers with job protection and continued health insurance while out on leave, and allow leave to be used intermittently when needed—for example, to take doctor ordered rest days during a complicated pregnancy, a benefit that is already available under NY’s PFL program but which can not be used for self-care.
Learn more from A Better Balance and take action to support the bill:
Voluntary Contribution Fund for Abortion Access
Bill numbers: A1806
S758 (2021-2022 bill number)
We call on the legislature to establish an Abortion Access Fund and permit taxpayers to voluntarily contribute to it on their state income tax return form. The money would be distributed by the Department of Health to nonprofit organizations that provide logistical and financial support to individuals who cannot afford abortion care. It is critical that the legislature take this step to support more equitable abortion access. Abortion is prohibitively expensive for many, with the average cost ranging from $523 at 10 weeks to $3,000 at 24 weeks gestation. Passing this bill would establish a mechanism for New Yorkers to help low-income people with these costs.
There are already more than 20 voluntary contribution funds on the New York State tax form. Examples include a fund to support the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid; the Love Your Library fund; and the Return a Gift to Wildlife fund that benefits the state’s fish, wildlife, and marine resources. The proposed legislation would create an Abortion Access Fund as an additional option for taxpayers.
Health Information Privacy Act
BKForge applauds the legislature for prioritizing the Health Information Privacy Act immediately in the 2025 session and passing this bill on 1/22/25. We now urge the Governor to sign this bill into law right away. In addition, we ask the legislature to act with similar urgency to pass Health Information System Segmentation (A2613 / S1633) to further safeguard New Yorkers’ sensitive health information.
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, President Trump and his coalition have expanded their aim to destroy abortion access, erase transgender and LGBTQ protections, and weaponize federal law enforcement and surveillance against those who provide or seek reproductive and gender-affirming care. This important bill will allow for stronger privacy protections for New Yorkers against the improper use of their electronic health data.
The Health Information Privacy Act will expand arrangements in FY2024 Health and Mental Hygiene (HMH) legislation that aims to protect New Yorkers’ electronic health data. Currently, HMH legislation limits when digital service providers in New York can respond to out-of-state warrants for reproductive health info, stops New York law enforcement from purchasing electronic health data, and requires local law enforcement to obtain a warrant if they want to obtain electronic health data. This bill will additionally prohibit the sale of this data to out-of-state buyers and require affirmative, written consent of patients. This bill will also require patients to be informed about their health information rights.