The New York State Assembly’s Health Committee today approved the Reproductive Health Act, legislation that will strengthen and modernize New York's abortion laws.

The following is attributable to Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union:

“The State Assembly has a proud history of championing the rights of women, and today’s committee vote in support of the Reproductive Health Act is consistent with that record. The Reproductive Health Act is not only about strengthening reproductive rights, it’s about supporting autonomy, privacy and dignity. And it’s about supporting healthy families.

“Since Roe v. Wade, generations of women have benefited from the constitutional right to make one of life’s most important and personal decisions — whether or when to have a child — without government interference. This legislation ensures that in New York our rights will be secure even as reproductive freedom is attacked in legislatures and courts throughout the nation.”