New York Abortion Law: How Many Weeks Before?

Abortion laws vary from state to state in the US, and New York's legislation is among the least restrictive. Abortion has been legal in New York since 1970, and the state's Reproductive Health Act, passed in 2019, allows abortions to take place up to 24 weeks into a pregnancy. After this point, abortions are still permitted if the fetus is not viable or if the procedure is necessary to protect the health of the pregnant person.

Abortion in New York is legal up to 24 weeks

In 2019, New York passed the Reproductive Health Act (RHA), which repealed a pre-Roe provision that banned third-trimester abortions, except in cases where the continuation of the pregnancy endangered a pregnant woman's life. The RHA permits abortions when, according to a medical professional's "reasonable and good faith professional judgment based on the facts of the patient's case", "the patient is within twenty-four weeks from the commencement of pregnancy, or there is an absence of fetal viability, or the abortion is necessary to protect the patient's life or health."

The RHA also removed abortion from the state's penal code altogether; the homicide statute still defines a "person" as "a human being who has been born and is alive". Killing a baby once born was and is still considered a homicide.

Abortion rights are protected in New York State, and federal decisions to limit access to abortion will not impact the state. Governor Kathy Hochul is fighting to preserve and strengthen these rights. Abortion access is available for New Yorkers and for those coming from outside of New York State. There are no residency requirements for abortion care in New York.

In New York, you can get an abortion for any reason up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, or later if your health is at risk or your pregnancy will not survive. If you are a teenager, you can get sexual health services, including abortion care, at a clinic without your parents' permission or knowledge.

New York also prohibits interference with healthcare services and has specific criminal laws to prevent individuals from interfering with or blocking access to those seeking reproductive healthcare services, including abortion.

After 24 weeks, a physician's approval is required

Abortion laws vary from state to state across the US, and New York's legislation is considered less restrictive than that of many other states. Abortion has been legal in New York since 1970, three years before the landmark Roe v. Wade case legalized it across the country.

In New York, you can get an abortion up to and including 24 weeks into the pregnancy. After this point, a physician's approval is required, and abortions are only permitted if the fetus is not viable or if the procedure is necessary to protect the health or life of the patient. This can include the patient's mental health.

The Reproductive Health Act, passed in 2019, allows abortions past the 24-week mark if a pregnant individual's life or health is at risk or if the fetus is not viable. This Act also expanded access to abortion services by allowing certain healthcare professionals who are not doctors to provide abortions.

The law does not define what constitutes an exception, and there are no criminal penalties for the pregnant individual, so abortion is effectively legal at any stage of pregnancy. However, a physician's approval is still required after 24 weeks.

New York's abortion laws are unique in that they do not impose waiting periods, detailed consent requirements, or other regulations on abortion clinics and healthcare providers. The state also has shield laws in place to protect those seeking an abortion in New York from civil and criminal litigation in their home state.

Abortion was legalized in New York in 1970, three years before Roe v. Wade

Abortion was legalized in New York in 1970, three years before the Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion across the United States.

New York's abortion law was passed before the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade ruling in 1973, which imposed a federally mandated framework for state abortion legislation. The New York law allowed abortions up to the 24th week of pregnancy and did not require patients to be state residents. This made New York a crucial state for people seeking abortions in the early 1970s, as two-thirds of abortions performed in New York in the first two years after the law was passed were for patients from out of state.

New York's abortion law was a significant milestone in the history of abortion rights in the United States. It was the culmination of a nationwide effort to reform abortion laws that had begun in the late 1960s, with health care providers, advocates, clergy members, and the legal community lobbying state legislatures and going to court to overturn statutes that had been in place since the turn of the century. During this period, several other states also reformed their abortion laws, with Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington repealing their abortion bans entirely, and 13 others expanding the exceptions under which abortions could be performed.

The legalization of abortion in New York and other states was a response to the increasing public support for abortion law reform during the 1950s and 1960s. This shift in public opinion was driven by several factors, including media coverage of unsafe, illegal abortions, and incidents where women were unable to obtain legal abortions even when their pregnancies posed serious health risks. For example, in 1962, a pregnant TV host who had taken the drug thalidomide, which was found to cause severe birth defects, was unable to obtain a legal abortion in the United States and had to travel to Sweden to terminate her pregnancy. This incident garnered significant media attention, and a poll found that 52% of Americans supported her.

The legalization of abortion in New York in 1970 was a crucial step towards ensuring safe and accessible abortion services for people across the country. It set a precedent for other states to follow and helped lay the groundwork for the Roe v. Wade decision three years later, which established abortion as a constitutional right in the United States.

The Reproductive Health Act allows abortions after 24 weeks if a fetus is non-viable or a mother's health is at risk

Abortion laws vary from state to state in the US, with some states imposing waiting periods, detailed consent, and counseling mandates. New York's abortion laws are less restrictive than those in many other states. Abortion in New York is legal, and abortions are allowed up to and including 24 weeks of pregnancy. After this point, abortions are still permitted if the fetus is non-viable or if the mother's health is at risk. This is in accordance with The Reproductive Health Act (RHA), passed in 2019, which allows abortions past the 24th week of pregnancy if the pregnant individual's life or health is at risk or if the fetus is not viable.

The RHA expanded protections for abortion access, allowing certain healthcare professionals who are not doctors to provide abortion services. It also broadened the list of legal exceptions for performing an abortion past 24 weeks, effectively making abortion available throughout pregnancy. The law states that "comprehensive reproductive health care, including contraception and abortion, is a fundamental component of a woman's health, privacy, and equality."

The RHA also repealed a section of the public health law that required abortions after 12 weeks to be performed in a hospital, and that an additional physician be present for abortions after 20 weeks. This change reflects modern standards of medical care and is in line with the argument that abortion should be treated as a healthcare matter rather than a criminal one.

It is important to note that, while the RHA does not explicitly define "health," the determination of whether an abortion after 24 weeks is necessary to protect the patient's life or health must be made by a licensed healthcare practitioner, acting within their lawful scope of practice.

New York's abortion laws are a result of a long history of legislation and activism surrounding abortion rights in the state. Abortion has been legal in New York since 1970, three years before the Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion across the United States.

New York abortion laws are less restrictive than other states

Abortion laws in New York are less restrictive than in many other states. Abortion has been legal in New York since 1970, three years before the Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion across the US. In 2019, New York passed the Reproductive Health Act, which expanded protections for abortion access, allowing certain non-doctors to provide abortion services.

New York's abortion laws do not impose waiting periods, detailed consent, or counseling mandates. If you choose to have an abortion, you won't have to get the consent of your partner, parent, or guardian. There is no mandated counseling or waiting period before accessing abortion services.

In New York, abortion is legal within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. After 24 weeks, abortion is legal when the fetus is not viable or when necessary to protect the patient's life or health, including their mental health. This is in contrast to some 14 other states that now have near-total abortion bans, with two other states prohibiting abortion after about six weeks.

New York has also enacted shield laws to protect those seeking abortions from civil and criminal litigation from their home state. This includes patients using telehealth services from a New York medication abortion provider. Additionally, New York requires insurance coverage of abortion and prohibits interference with healthcare services, including specific criminal laws to prevent individuals from interfering with or blocking access to those seeking reproductive healthcare services.

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