Bill Text: NY S01438 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the New York state abortion clinical training program within the department of health for the purpose of training health care practitioners in the performance of abortion and related reproductive health care services; requires the commissioner of health to submit a report to the governor and the legislature.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2025-01-21 - referred to health [S01438 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S01438-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1438 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 9, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, BRISPORT, BROUK, FERNANDEZ, GONZALEZ, HINCHEY, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, MAYER, SALAZAR, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to enacting the New York state abortion clinical training program act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new article 2 25-AA to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE 25-AA 4 NEW YORK STATE ABORTION CLINICAL TRAINING PROGRAM ACT 5 Section 2599-bb-10. Policy and purpose. 6 2599-bb-11. Definitions. 7 2599-bb-12. Establishment of the New York state abortion clin- 8 ical training program. 9 2599-bb-13. Reporting. 10 § 2599-bb-10. Policy and purpose. 1. New York has long held that 11 comprehensive reproductive health care is a fundamental component of 12 every individual's health, privacy and equality, and that access to 13 reproductive health care service is integral to their ability to choose 14 to carry a pregnancy to term, to give birth to a child, or to have an 15 abortion. 16 2. Abortion care is provided in hospitals, clinics, and private 17 medical practices across the state, with a majority of these procedures 18 performed by community-based providers. However, growing maternal health 19 care deserts have made it difficult for individuals to access this vital 20 form of care. The need for abortion care continues to increase while the 21 number of providers trained to perform these services is declining. 22 Although there are community-based abortion facilities in every region 23 of the state, only seven out of ten regions have community-based facili- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04174-02-5S. 1438 2 1 ties that perform abortion care beyond fifteen weeks of pregnancy. In 2 three regions, only two facilities provide abortion care up to twenty 3 weeks of pregnancy. This has resulted in pregnant people having to trav- 4 el further, and in some cases out of state, to access care, especially 5 later in pregnancy. 6 3. While any physician and health care practitioner licensed by the 7 state with abortion in their scope of practice is authorized to perform 8 the procedure under law, there is no structured training program avail- 9 able to them for this purpose. 10 4. New York is in a strong position to address the training needs of 11 these individuals by establishing a statewide abortion clinical training 12 program. There are multiple abortion providers who are experienced, 13 utilize innovative abortion care procedures, and interested in training 14 their peers but require funding to do so. 15 5. It is the purpose of this article to create new training opportu- 16 nities for New York health care practitioners in the delivery of 17 abortion care through such a program, thereby protecting every individ- 18 ual's right to health, privacy and equality. 19 § 2599-bb-11. Definitions. 1. As used in this article, the following 20 terms shall have the following meanings: 21 (a) "Abortion" shall mean the termination of a pregnancy pursuant to 22 section twenty-five hundred ninety-nine-bb of this chapter. 23 (b) "Health care services" shall mean the range of care related to the 24 provision of abortion pursuant to section twenty-five hundred ninety- 25 nine-bb of this chapter. 26 (c) "Health care practitioner" shall mean any health care practitioner 27 authorized to provide health care services pursuant to section twenty- 28 five hundred ninety-nine-bb of this chapter or an intern or resident who 29 is employed by a hospital or otherwise enrolled in an accredited gradu- 30 ate medical education program. 31 (d) "Professional educators" shall mean organizations providing repro- 32 ductive health care, continuing education programs for qualified provid- 33 ers through professional associations or clinical education programs 34 that meet professionally recognized training standards. 35 § 2599-bb-12. Establishment of the New York state abortion clinical 36 training program. 1. (a) There is hereby established within the depart- 37 ment the New York state abortion clinical training program for the 38 purpose of training health care practitioners in the performance of 39 abortion and related reproductive health care services. The commissioner 40 in consultation with the state education department, shall adopt a 41 uniform and comprehensive curriculum and materials for the training of 42 health care practitioners in the performance of a full range of abortion 43 and related reproductive health care services. Such curriculum shall be 44 consistent with evidence-based training standards and shall include, but 45 not be limited to: 46 (i) counseling and informed consent; 47 (ii) miscarriage management; 48 (iii) patient-centered care; 49 (iv) pre-abortion evaluation; 50 (v) contraception and aftercare; 51 (vi) telehealth delivery; 52 (vii) surgical abortion; and 53 (viii) medication abortion. 54 (b) In establishing the curriculum and training materials for the 55 program, the commissioner may consult a range of experts, including, but 56 not limited to, individuals and entities providing abortion care,S. 1438 3 1 abortion funds, and other organizations whose mission is to expand 2 access to abortion care, to ensure the program structure reflects the 3 needs of abortion providers, abortion funds and consumers. 4 (c) For professional educators currently operating an abortion clin- 5 ical training program within the state, the commissioner shall approve 6 the existing curriculum for use so long as the curriculum meets adopted 7 statewide standards. 8 3. (a) The commissioner is authorized to enter into agreements with 9 professional educators to facilitate clinical training related to 10 abortion care and other related reproductive health services at a mini- 11 mum of four sites across the state. In entering such agreements, the 12 commissioner shall consider organizations that: 13 (i) comply with applicable state laws and regulations; 14 (ii) are capable of providing culturally congruent care and implicit 15 bias training; 16 (iii) have demonstrated experience in coordinating abortion care 17 training programs; 18 (iv) have sufficient patient volume to accommodate training needs; and 19 (v) provide abortion and reproductive health care services to under- 20 served communities. 21 (b) Professional educators shall not be required to provide training 22 in all areas of the approved curriculum, provided, however, special 23 consideration shall be given to professional educators who have the 24 capability to provide the full range of abortion care and related repro- 25 ductive health care services. 26 (c) The commissioner may engage the services of a consultant on a 27 contract basis to support the administration and operation of the 28 program. Such consultant shall be a professional educator that has the 29 demonstrated ability to provide programmatic oversight on a statewide 30 level including, but not limited to candidate selection and screening, 31 and adherence to the approved curriculum and clinical standards. 32 (d) Each professional educator receiving funding pursuant to this 33 paragraph shall submit a written certification in such form and at such 34 time as the commissioner shall prescribe, attesting how any award made 35 was used to support training health care practitioners in the perform- 36 ance of abortion and related reproductive health care services includ- 37 ing, but not limited to the number of health care practitioners selected 38 for training; the number of health care practitioners completing the 39 approved curriculum; and the areas of the state served by the health 40 care practitioners selected. 41 (e) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law to the contrary, 42 the commissioner shall be authorized to recoup any award made and deter- 43 mined to have been used in a manner inconsistent with the purposes of 44 the abortion clinical training program. The commissioner is authorized 45 to employ any legal mechanism to recoup such funds, including an offset 46 of other funds that are owed to such professional educator. 47 4. The commissioner shall award and distribute grants to address prac- 48 tical support needs of eligible health care providers. Funds may be 49 awarded to support an eligible health care practitioner in obtaining 50 clinical education on abortion care and other reproductive health 51 services, including, but not limited to, financial support for travel 52 and lodging associated with attending the program. 53 5. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations as are 54 necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. 55 § 2599-bb-13. Reporting. The commissioner shall submit a report no 56 later than twelve months after the effective date of this section andS. 1438 4 1 annually thereafter, to the governor, the temporary president of the 2 senate and the speaker of the assembly, which shall include, but not be 3 limited to, the total amount of grants issued, the number of eligible 4 participants, the number of eligible providers, and the region of the 5 state where the eligible providers are located. Notwithstanding any 6 other provision of law, the commissioner shall not report any informa- 7 tion related to identifying information of eligible participants in the 8 program. 9 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding 10 the date upon which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, 11 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces- 12 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are 13 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
