Reproductive justice is more than access to abortion.

 

  • 700 women in the U.S. die each year due to pregnancy or delivery-related complications

  • 50% of trans people report having to teach their providers about trans care

  • 30% increase in HIV infection rate for Latino gay and bisexual men due to immigration policies discouraging people from seeking treatment

  • 4x more likely for people with disabilities to report fair or poor health when compared to those without disabilities

  • 44% of Indian Health Service Emergency Rooms don’t have protocol or trained staff to handle sexual assault survivors.

  • Black women are 12 times more likely than a white woman to die in childbirth

Our Issues

This is what we expect from all our candidates—from the NYS legislature to our next president.

PROTECTING OUR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

We have a right to make the choices that affect our bodies, our futures. Facing the possibility that Roe v. Wade might be overturned and rampant state abortion bans, we want to protect New Yorkers from these vulnerabilities. We aim to set the legal foundation for our rights in New York State with or without Roe. 

Here’s how we want to protect our access to reproductive health care: 

  • Equal Rights Amendment (S517B/A272B): The Equal Rights Amendment was introduced nearly 50 years ago and much of that language is obsolete. We will fight for an ERA that protects against discrimination regardless of pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. 

  • Fighting Abortion Restrictions (A05389): While it seems like abortion restrictions are only applicable in other states, there have been several bills introduced right here at home seeking to curtail our rights, including testing for a fetal heartbeat. We will remain vigilant and fight any New York legislators trying to bring these unconstitutional tactics to our community. 

AFFORDABLE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE

We stand for single-payer health care and will fight for affordable health care in our community now. We need access to preventative care, contraception, prenatal care, safe delivery, fertility treatment, and HIV/AIDS care regardless of who we are. We refuse to pay out-of-pocket for critical, essential health care services, prescriptions, and other life-saving treatments. 

Here’s how we’ll fight for affordable health care:

  • Creating a New York Health program (A05248): Health care is a human right. We cannot rely on private insurance to provide us with affordable, inclusive care. As it stands, we cannot afford current insurance and it causes us extreme financial hardship. We will create a universal single-payer health care system for New Yorkers. 

  • Enforcing prescription drug caps: We need to do more to make sure that New Yorkers have access to life-saving drugs. In New York State, we’ve only begun to talk about the basics like drug caps for insulin, while those living with HIV/AIDS pay $20,000/month for a prescription to keep them alive. We will fight against big pharma, so that New Yorkers -- regardless of private or public insurance, Medicaid or Medicare -- will not go bankrupt. 

  • Securing Title X funding in NYS (S2593/A5686): We continue to face the gag rule, restricting the services of essential health providers like Planned Parenthood. We need to secure Title X federal funding for critical health services in New York State. I will fight for the creation of a NYS family planning department to secure that funding.

PAID FAMILY LEAVE & CHILD CARE

New York is not working hard enough for parents and families. We live in one of the wealthiest cities in the world, but we do not have paid family leave, mothers die in childbirth, and there’s no safety net to care for our children.

Here’s how we fight for New York families:

  • Entering the 21st century with paid family leave: Unfortunately, we do not have anything that comes close to equitable paid family leave in New York or nationally. We want to expand paid family leave for up to 6 months to a year for both new mothers and fathers. 

  • Reducing maternal mortality. Access to quality pregnancy care and safe delivery should not be determined by your zip code or income. We will fight for better maternal health for all New Yorkers. We won’t stand by as we continue to pass legislation for awareness days and commissioning studies. We already know that black womyn are three times more likely to die in childbirth. We will fight to change how our medical providers are educated and secure funding for our public hospitals where racial disparities are most significant. 

  • Child Care & Medicaid Benefits (A04408). Maternal and family health are directly related to our ability to pay for them. We will fight for a universal single-payer system. We will ask our elected officials to ensure that Medicaid covers as much as private insurance for mothers and children. We will fight for coverage of services that will enhance family health and wellbeing, including adding doula services as medical providers for Medicaid recipients. 

DECRIMINALIZING SEX WORK

We need to stop discriminating and support all womyn. We want to eliminate unnecessary penalties, including the characterization of sex work as a class B misdemeanor. 

Here’s how we want to stand up to obsolete laws:

  • Decriminalizing offenses pertaining to sex work (A08230): We will not criminalize individuals who choose and freely participate in sex work. We stand as allies and will not allow womyn in our community to face jail time and treated like criminals under archaic laws.

ENDING DISCRIMINATION & VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMYN

Each year, our federal government fights to renew funding for the Violence Against Women Act. This should not be the case. We will fight for womyn here in our home city, including holding employers and higher education institutions for discriminatory behavior and sexual assault. 

Here’s how we want to fight discrimination:

  • Not sexual harassment, discrimination (A01890): Our experiences with sexual harassment should never be taken lightly. We want to replace the term sexual harassment in our laws with discrimination. Employers will be responsible for training and preventing discriminatory behavior in the workplace. 

  • Reporting sexual assault on college campuses (A02834/S04734): We demand that colleges take responsibility for sexual assault on their campuses. We ask that SUNY and CUNY schools appoint an individual who will comply with federal reporting standards under Title IX. 

HEALTHY, INCLUSIVE SEX EDUCATION

Our kids need comprehensive sex education at every age. Without this kind of education, we are putting our kids in danger with a lack of information and misinformation. Abstinence-only education and the parental opt-out option for certain lessons prevents kids from learning about safe sex and critical facts about health, like HIV & AIDS. 

We will fight to keep our community safe & healthy:

  • Comprehensive, inclusive sex education (A01904). We will require comprehensive, age-appropriate, and medically accurate sex education to be taught K-12. We will advocate for an inclusive curriculum that does not teach harmful, antiquated ideas about gender and sexuality. Parents and guardians will not be able to opt-out of critical units. 

  • Educating our medical providers. Womyn at high risk of maternal mortality, people with disabilities, and those who are transitioning are just a few groups who face doctors and medical providers who do not have the expertise for their needs. They also fail to offer sensitive, compassionate care. This is unacceptable. We will fight for inclusive, comprehensive, reproductive health in New York medical school and related curriculums.