{"id":2289,"date":"2019-02-12T10:38:35","date_gmt":"2019-02-12T16:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/?p=2289"},"modified":"2019-02-12T10:38:35","modified_gmt":"2019-02-12T16:38:35","slug":"on-demand-abortions-protection-for-womens-rights-or-expansion-of-late-term-abortions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/?p=2289","title":{"rendered":"“On Demand” Abortions: Protection for Women’s Rights or Expansion of Late-Term Abortions?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Blake Koloseike<\/em><\/p>\n

Associate Editor<\/em><\/p>\n

Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2020<\/em><\/p>\n

With the recent change of New York\u2019s abortion law, legislators granted women the affirmative right<\/a> to abortions under the state\u2019s public-health law. Under the Reproductive Health Act<\/a>, restrictions on abortion past twenty-four weeks are removed legalizing abortion up until the day of birth. This bill was passed on the 46th<\/sup> anniversary of the Roe v. Wade<\/a> decision. The new bill comes as a reaction to the confirmation of conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, giving protection<\/a> to women\u2019s access to abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Proving to be very controversial, the change has advocates and critics at odds with its potential future effects.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Advocates Applaud the New Law<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Reproductive Health Act was first introduced<\/a> in 2006. However, it was blocked for consideration by the Republican-controlled<\/a> state Senate. Since the Democrats won a majority in the Senate this past November, the Democrats<\/a> now control the Assembly. On Tuesday<\/a>, the Reproductive Health Act was passed. After signing the bill into law, Governor Andrew Cuomo said<\/a>, \u201cWith the signing of this bill, we are sending a clear message that whatever happens in Washington, women in New York will always have the fundamental right to control their own body.\u201d By taking abortion out of the criminal code<\/a>, this bill puts women\u2019s health into public health law<\/a>, allowing not only doctors to perform abortions, but also physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and midwives to perform abortions. The previous law made doctors reluctant<\/a> to provide abortions after twenty-four weeks when the mother\u2019s life was in danger or the fetus was no longer viable due to the potential of criminal prosecution.<\/p>\n

Advocates argue that allowing abortions to be performed after twenty-four weeks if the fetus is not viable or when necessary to protect the mother\u2019s life is necessary to protect the health<\/a> and safety of the mother. Additionally, allowing physicians other than doctors to provide abortions allows women in rural areas, who have limited access<\/a> to doctors, more options. Advocates believe that this legislation is a victory<\/a> for New Yorkers and believe that the legislation is progress for the state.<\/p>\n

Critics Argue the Law is Too Expansive<\/strong><\/p>\n

In arguing before the state legislature, State Assembly Representative Nicole Malliotakis stated<\/a>, \u201cTo be honest with the public and say that this bill does not simply codify Roe v. Wade\u2026what this bill does is expand abortion up to birth and the third trimester.\u201d Opponents believe that this will result in an increase<\/a> in the number of abortions in the state. Further, opponents\u2019 argue removing abortion from the criminal code means there would be no prosecution<\/a> if a fetus died as a result of assault to the pregnant mother.<\/p>\n

In addition, critics argue that the ambiguity of Reproductive Health Act is too broad<\/a>. Specifically, that Act allows for termination<\/a> of the pregnancy after 24 weeks if there is an absence of fetal viability, or if \u201cthe abortion is necessary to protect the patient\u2019s life or health.\u201d The ambiguity allows for abortion at any point during the pregnancy should the doctor deem the mother\u2019s wellbeing<\/a> is at risk. The physicians are asked to assess \u201call factors<\/a>\u2014physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman\u2019s age\u2014relevant to the wellbeing of the patient.\u201d The terms are ambiguous and essentially allow for \u201con demand\u201d abortion until birth. Opponents argue that the law should have defined<\/a> what constitutes a threat to the woman\u2019s health.<\/p>\n

What This Means for Health Care Professionals<\/strong><\/p>\n

New York is a state with very few restrictions on abortion. The state does not have any major restrictions<\/a>, such as waiting periods, mandated parental involvement, or limitations on publicly funded abortions. With the recently enacted Reproductive Health Act, there will be even fewer restrictions. Prior to this bill, a licensed physician was the only person able to perform an abortion. Now, however, nurse practitioners and physician assistants will be able to become licensed and certified<\/a> by the state to perform abortions, assuming they are acting within the legal scope of their practice.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, doctors will now be ultimately responsible<\/a> for advising patients on whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. Unfortunately, doctors have been given very little guidance<\/a> in how they should make this decision. Individual providers will maintain the right to refuse<\/a> to provide abortion services, allowing religion-based organizations the right to remain in line with their beliefs.<\/p>\n

Overall, this bill will protect women\u2019s ability to choose the future of her pregnancy and will change the way in which health care professionals handle abortions. It will be interesting to see how this law will impact abortion laws when the Supreme Court decides whether or not to overturn<\/a> Roe v. Wade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the recent change of New York\u2019s abortion law, legislators granted women the affirmative right to abortions under the state\u2019s public-health law. Under the Reproductive Health Act, restrictions on abortion past twenty-four weeks are removed legalizing abortion up until the day of birth. This bill was passed on the 46th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. The new bill comes as a reaction to the confirmation of conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, giving protection to women\u2019s access to abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Proving to be very controversial, the change has advocates and critics at odds with its potential future effects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[109,971,1405,1690,1709,1738],"class_list":["post-2289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hipaa-health-information","tag-abortion-access","tag-governor-andrew-cuomo","tag-new-york","tag-regulation","tag-reproductive-health-act","tag-roe-v-wade"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2289\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/compliance\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}