For Immediate Release: May 6, 2014

Contact: Gary Ginsburg | ginsburg@nysenate.gov | 518-455-2415

Senate Republican/IDC Coalition Block Reproductive Health Vote

(Albany, NY) The Republican/IDC Majority in the Senates Health Committee today voted
down the New York State Reproductive Health Act. This initiative was brought before the
committee for a vote by bill sponsor, Senate Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-
Cousins.

Senate Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said, In 1970, when the
issue of reproductive health was first passed in New York, 12 Republican Senators joined a
majority of their Democratic colleagues to support this landmark legislation. Womens health is
not a Republican or Democratic issue. The women of New York deserve a vote, and deserve to
know where their elected officials stand on these important issues.

Senator Liz Krueger said, Right now, a woman in New York State could need to terminate her
pregnancy for medical reasons to protect her own health, and could still be required to go to
another state to get the care she needs, because we have failed to modernize New Yorks laws on
reproductive health by passing the RHA or the governors full Womens Equality Act. We are
angered, but not surprised, that the Senate majority coalition has once again chosen to stand in
the way of these reforms.

Senator Gustavo Rivera said, Today, we once again missed an opportunity to strengthen and
protect a womens right to make her own choices about her health and her medical care. It is
simply unacceptable that the personal beliefs of a select few elected officials, enabled by a
dysfunctional leadership arrangement in the New York State Senate, continue to stand in the way
of legislation that will prevent women in New York from facing unnecessary obstacles when it
comes to their own personal health decisions. This bill is strongly supported by a majority of
New Yorkers across the state and my colleagues have a responsibility to ensure that it is
enacted.

M. Tracey Brooks, CEO of Family Planning Advocates of New York State, said, This
legislation is long overdue and important to safeguard the health and safety of women. Seven out
of 10 New York voters want the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) passed because New Yorkers
hold as a core value a womans decision-making ability about her reproductive health care. We
call on the Senate to stop playing politics with womens lives and bring the Reproductive Health
Act to the floor for a full vote.

Andrea Miller, President of NARAL Pro-Choice New York, said, The preservation of
womens health is non-negotiable. Its unconscionable that more than five years after its first
introduction, the RHA has not yet been adopted into law. Legislators have already wasted too
much time, compromising the health of women experiencing serious medical complications
during pregnancy. The Senate must vote in accordance with New Yorkers overwhelming
support for a womans right to choose.

The Senate Health Committee majoritys vote against the Reproductive Health Act means it will
not be brought to the full Senate for a floor vote.

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New York State Senate | DemocraticConferenceNews@nysenate.gov | 518-455-2415