State Law on Late Term Abortions are Very Specific
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
Recently I read a Letter to the Editor in several local papers with a discussion of the 2019 New York Reproductive Health Act. That letter provided misinformation as to what the law does and I felt it important to provide the facts about this state law. Our state legislature took this action several years ago because there was always the possibility that Roe v. Wade would be overturned. As you know, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that each state had the responsibility for determining its policy regarding abortions.
The 2019 NY Reproductive Health Act allows for a woman to have an abortion up to 24 weeks into the pregnancy. After that time, a pregnancy can be terminated only if the woman’s health or life is threatened or there is an absence of fetal viability. The law allows for an abortion to be performed by a licensed, certified or authorized practitioner under our public health laws and acting within their scope of practice, as we require for all medical procedures.
In 1970, New York had legalized abortion. This 2019 law updated the former legislation to comply with Roe v. Wade and to amend the law from criminal procedure to public health.
Whatever your views are on this issue, I wanted to clarify that only abortions after 24 weeks can occur if the life or health of the women is in jeopardy or the fetus will not be able to survive outside the womb. These rare later abortions are made in consultation with medical professionals – exercising medical judgement. The state law, Chapter 1 of 2019, is very specific and detailed and follows the policy established on a federal level in Roe v. Wade in 1973.
Sandy Galef
Member of the NYS Assembly, 95th AD
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