On the 46th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Governor Cuomo signed the Reproductive Health Act into law – ensuring that abortion rights in New York are protected no matter what happens to Roe. From getting on buses to Albany to calling on our legislators to act, advocates have worked to make the RHA the law in our state for more than ten years.

For the first time since 1970, abortion has been removed from our criminal laws…

and put into our public health law – where it belongs. The new law will ensure that women are able to obtain an abortion in their home state of New York if their health is threatened later in pregnancy. By also allowing advanced practice care clinicians to administer early abortion services, rural and low-income women across our state will have easier access to care.

There’s more good news, and it’s about your birth control.

Because the Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act also passed in the state legislature, you’ll soon have the ability to get up to a year’s supply of the birth control pill at one time. The CCCA also makes sure that all FDA-approved forms of contraception are covered without a co-pay, and it expands coverage for emergency contraception. So don’t let your health insurance company tell you otherwise!

The resounding message is: elections matter.

This victory is not only the result of our collective tenacity in fighting year after year for women’s health, but it’s also the result of the campaigning we did together across our state to elect leaders who would fight for our healthcare and our rights. It is a message that we will take with us into the next two years, as we continue to empower leaders who will empower us.