Radical Expansion of Abortion

This bill, known as the Reproductive. Health and Privacy Protection Act (RI-IAPP), was first introduced by former Governor Eliot Spitzer in 2008 and was carried in the State Senate by Senator Andrea Stewart- Cousins (D — Yonkers). The bill was deemed too radical for even the liberal Democratic leadership in the State Assembly and never found a sponsor in that house. Though the bill has not yet been introduced this session, it is on Family Planning Advocates legislative agenda. The new Senate Majority Leader, Senator Malcolm Smith (D — Queens) has pledged his support to advance Planned Parenthood’s priorities. The Reproductive Health Act (RHA), as it is currently being identified as, would be the greatest expansion of abortion rights since Rae v. Wade. The bill has many flaws, including violation of religious freedoms and removing what few restrictions exist on abortion, ultimately endangering women. RHA would:
• Establish a fundamental right to abortion.
• Allow even full-term abortions.
• Not require abortions be done in a hospital, even after viability.
• Not require a physician, prior to viability, only a healthcare practitioner.
• Remove five abortion crimes from the penal law.
• Remove unborn children from the definition of homicide.
• Permit females of any age access to any form of contraception, including the dangerous RU486. • Not provide a religious exemption for religious medical facilities or employees, thereby requiring that religious hospitals must perform abortions.
In summary, under this legislation, abortion would be decnminalized, less safe and more available. It undermines parental rights and authority. It prohibits a woman’s right to know and her informed consent.