Bill Text: NY A01019 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides that maternal health care facilities are not required to grant doula access during emergencies or when such access could compromise the safety of the patient or health care team.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2025-02-14 - signed chap.39 [A01019 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A01019-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1019

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Health

        AN ACT to amend the public health  law,  in  relation  to  doula  access
          during emergency situations

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 2500-m of the public health law, as  amended  by  a
     2  chapter  of  the laws of 2024 amending the public health law relating to
     3  permitting expecting  and  new  mothers'  access  to  their  doulas,  as
     4  proposed  in  legislative  bills  numbers  S.  5992-A  and A. 6168-A, is
     5  amended to read as follows:
     6    § 2500-m. Access to doulas. (a) When a person is admitted to a  mater-
     7  nal  health care facility for delivery and/or inpatient care post-deliv-
     8  ery, such person may designate a doula to have access  to  such  person.
     9  The  maternal  health care facility shall not deny such person access to
    10  such person's designated doula.  For the purposes of this  section,  the
    11  term "maternal health care facility" shall mean a hospital or freestand-
    12  ing  birthing  center  providing  perinatal  services in accordance with
    13  article twenty-eight of this chapter and applicable regulations.
    14    (b) Nothing in this section  shall  require  a  maternal  health  care
    15  facility  to  grant  a  doula access to a person or area of the facility
    16  during emergencies or when such access could compromise  the  safety  of
    17  the patient or health care team.
    18    §  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect on the same date and in the same
    19  manner as a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the public  health  law
    20  relating  to  permitting  expecting  and  new  mothers'  access to their
    21  doulas, as proposed in  legislative  bills  numbers  S.  5992-A  and  A.
    22  6168-A, takes effect.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02834-01-5