New York has a proud tradition of protecting reproductive rights. In 1970, New York was one of the first states in the nation to permit safe and legal abortion, greatly reducing maternal morbidity and mortality. While the law was groundbreaking at the time, it does not contain a health exception and needs to be strengthened to safeguard women's health and reproductive rights.

The Reproductive Health Act is needed because:

• We must protect women in the face of aggressive federal attacks on their health and rights.
• If the federal government continues to chip away at reproductive rights, New York's law will be insufficient to protect a woman's health.
• We need to strengthen state law to firmly establish the protection of a woman's health.
• We must protect an individual's right to make private reproductive health care decisions without government intrusion.
• Laws related to abortion services should be located in the public health code.
• We have the chance to strengthen our laws and continue New York's proud tradition of supporting women's reproductive health and rights.