State debates non-resident abortion costs | News, Sports, Jobs

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Sen. Phil Boyle is pictured in his Senate office with letters sent by constituents.

Sen. Phil Boyle, R-Bay Shore, isn’t leaving the state Senate quietly.

Boyle earlier this year announced he isn’t running for re-election to another term in the Senate and will leave office at the end of the year. On Thursday, though, Boyle introduced S.9490 which would ban the use of state money to pay for abortions for non-New York residents. It faces an uphill road to become law with Democratic supermajorities in the Assembly and Senate pushing to expand access to abortion access in New York.

“Regardless of your position on the recent Supreme Court decision, I believe that a majority of New Yorkers are vehemently opposed to using our tax money to pay for the abortions of women who don’t live in our state,” Boyle said on Twitter.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has already announced a $25 million Abortion Provider Support Fund, overseen by the state Department of Health, to expand capacity and access for patients seeking abortion care in New York as well as $10 million for reproductive health care centers to access security grants through the Division of Criminal Justice Services.

It is expected New York and other abortion-friendly states will see an influx of out-of-state residents seeking abortions.

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“Now that Roe is overturned, I believe it is only a matter of time before the far left legislators who control the agenda in Albany try to make New Yorkers pay for the air fare, hotel stays and abortion procedures of women from other states who travel here to terminate their pregnancies,” Boyle said.

“Regardless of one’s position on abortion, that is where New York taxpayers will draw the line.”

State legislators also passed several pieces of abortion-related legislation before the end of the legislative session on June 3 that Hochul signed quickly on June 13. They include:

¯ S.9039A/A.10094A, which establishes a cause of action for unlawful interference with protected rights. This will allow individuals to bring a claim against someone who has sued them or brought charges against them for facilitating, aiding, or obtaining reproductive health or endocrine care services in accordance with state law.

¯ S.9077A/A.10372A, which provides legal protections for abortion service providers, those who assist someone else in obtaining an abortion, or individuals who self-manage an abortion.

¯ S.9079B/A.9687B, which prohibits professional misconduct charges against health care practitioners who performed, recommended or provided reproductive health care services for a patient who resides in a state where such services are legal.

¯ S.9080B/A.9718B, which prohibits medical malpractice insurance companies from taking any adverse action against an abortion or reproductive health care provider who performs an abortion or provides reproductive health care that is legal in the state of New York on someone who is from out of state.

¯ S.9384A/A.9818A, which allows reproductive health care services providers, employees, volunteers, patients, or immediate family members of reproductive health care services providers to enroll in the state’s address confidentiality program to protect themselves from threats.

¯ S.470/A.5499, directing state Department of Health commissioner to conduct a study and issue a report examining the unmet health and resource needs facing pregnant people in New York and the impact of limited service pregnancy centers.

“Reproductive rights are human rights, and today we are signing landmark legislation to further protect them and all who wish to access them in New York State. The women of New York will never be subjected to government mandated pregnancies. Not here. Not now. Not ever,” Hochul said when signing the bills. “Today, we are taking action to protect our service providers from the retaliatory actions of anti-abortion states and ensure that New York will always be a safe harbor for those seeking reproductive health care. New York has always been a beacon for those yearning to be free. And I want the world to hear — loud and clear — that will not change.”