New York, NY, Friday, June 2, 2023 – The Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York (“WBASNY”) supports the passage of A.1594 (Rosenthal) which would amend both Public Health Law and Mental Hygiene Law to provide additional aftercare support for individuals who have suffered a pregnancy loss.

Specifically, this legislation would require the department of Health and Mental Hygiene to create a pamphlet of mental health resources for those who have suffered a pregnancy loss, including, but not limited to, miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion. Additionally, this legislation requires healthcare practitioners to provide a copy of such pamphlet to patients during the first appointment following a pregnancy loss, along with an adequate supply of menstrual products to help with their aftercare.

Pregnancy loss of any kind can be a devastating event in the life of a woman and her family. Despite being medically common, many patients who experience pregnancy loss are not provided with any mental health resources, making it more difficult for patients to tend to their mental health needs and cope with the loss. This legislation recognizes that women should be apprised of the mental health resources available to them to address any effects they may experience from pregnancy loss and that providing a list of those resources will help women should they determine such services are needed.

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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.