(New York, NY, Friday, October 14, 2022) – The Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (“WBASNY”) supports A.10663, introduced by New York State Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, authorizing telehealth providers to offer reproductive health services, including emergency contraception and abortion, to a patient regardless of such patient’s physical location.

WBASNY also commends Member of Congress, Pat Ryan, for his introduction of the “Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act.” WBASNY strongly supports a woman’s essential right to make her own reproductive health care decisions, and this Federal legislation takes an important step in ensuring this right. As anti-choice lawmakers across the country introduce state-level legislation to restrict a woman’s right to choose, it is increasingly more urgent that action is taken at the Federal level. Congressman Ryan’s bill would pre-empt state laws that restrict access to FDA-approved medication and protect telehealth to assure that every woman, regardless of where she resides, is able to obtain access to the health care she needs.

WBASNY will continue to persist as a strong supporter of a woman’s fundamental right to make her own reproductive health decisions and supports all legislation at both the State and Federal levels that achieves those goals.

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The Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY) is the professional membership organization of choice for nearly 4,000 attorneys throughout New York State and the largest statewide women’s bar association in the country.  For more than four decades, WBASNY has been a singularly important resource for women lawyers, providing professional networking, continuing legal education programming, leadership training, and advocacy for the rights of women, children, and families.  Through involvement with WBASNY’s 20 regional chapters and its 40-plus substantive law committees, WBASNY’s members collaborate with one another on a variety of issues and perform public and community service, in furtherance of its mission to promote the advancement of the status of women in society and women in the legal profession; to promote the fair and equal administration of justice; and to act as a unified voice for its members with respect to issues of statewide, national and international significance to women generally and women attorneys in particular. WBASNY holds United Nations NGO status with the U.N.’s Department of Public Information, and Special Consultative status in association with the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). WBASNY is also a founding member of the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations.