MARCH 2019 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 17
POINT OF VIEW
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACT
FACTS VERSUS MYTHS
By JOANN D. SMITH
President & CEO, Planned
Parenthood of Nassau County
On January 22, the Reproductive
Health Act (RHA) became law in
New York State, codifying the tenets
of Roe v. Wade into state law, and
placing abortion care in the public
health code, where it belongs.
Equally important, the RHA guarantees
an individual’s right to make her
own personal health care decisions
with a health care provider during
her pregnancy, ensuring that medical
decisions are in the hands of providers
and patients — not politicians.
The broader truth is that abortion
care is health care. With the passage
of RHA, the state is leading the
charge to destigmatize necessary
health care for pregnant individuals
who are dealing with real-life
situations that happen in real time.
Unfortunately, in the short time
since the RHA was passed, a great
deal of misinformation about the law
has been shared and we would like to
explain what RHA really does.
RHA places abortion care in the
public health code where it belongs,
not in the criminal code, because
abortion care is health care.
It also clarifies that trained health
care professionals like physicians’
assistants and nurse practitioners,
working within their scope of practice,
can provide abortion care.
Why the change? Because medical
professionals such as physicians’ assistants
and nurse practitioners did
not exist nearly 50 years ago when
the state's previous law was passed.
In addition, it ensures that New
Yorkers can access the care they
need during pregnancy when their
life or health is in danger or if their
pregnancy is not viable.
The RHA prohibits a person who
attacks a pregnant person resulting
in the loss of the pregnancy from
going unpunished, and the attacker
can be charged with first degree
assault. Moreover, the RHA bars
“just any” medical professional to
provide abortion care, and imposes
civil and criminal penalties for providers
who act outside their scope
of practice.
The last two confirmations to the
U.S. Supreme Court — Brett Kavanaugh
and Neil Gorsuch — have
made the future of Roe v. Wade
uncertain. In response, the state
legislature has acted decisively —
and in alignment with the values of
the majority of New Yorkers — to
ensure that access to safe and legal
abortion is secure in our state, and
that New York State lives up to its
reputation as a champion for reproductive
rights.
“Abortion care is health care.”
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