New York A 5161: Provides pregnant persons with alternative birth choices to preserve the life of a fetus when electing to have an abortion

Bill Text

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A05161 Summary:

BILL NOA05161 

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SAME ASNo Same As

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SPONSORDeStefano

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COSPNSRBrown E

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MLTSPNSR

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Amd §2599-bb, Pub Health L

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Provides pregnant persons with alternative birth choices to preserve the life of a fetus when electing to have an abortion by health care practitioners offering sedated birth and perinatal hospice procedures.

Go to top A05161 Actions:

BILL NOA05161 

&nbsp

02/12/2025referred to health

01/07/2026referred to health

Go to topA05161 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA05161 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA05161 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 5161

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 February 12, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. DeSTEFANO, E. BROWN -- read once and referred to
 the Committee on Health

 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to providing pregnant
 persons with alternative birth choices to preserve the life of a fetus
 when electing to have an abortion

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 2599-bb of the public health law
 2 is renumbered subdivision 7 and five new subdivisions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
 3 are added to read as follows:
 4 2. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the follow-
 5 ing definitions:
 6 (a) "Sedated birth" shall mean a procedure to take place past twenty-
 7 four weeks of pregnancy as an alternative to abortion where a pregnant
 8 person receives general anesthesia and medical interventions to induce
 9 labor and delivery, while medical interventions are not taken to stop
 10 the heartbeat or otherwise end the life of the fetus. The fetus is then
 11 born alive and intact.
 12 (b) "Perinatal hospice" shall mean specialized perinatal care which
 13 can take place at any point during a pregnancy as an alternative to
 14 surgical abortion centered on ensuring a peaceful, nonviolent and
 15 natural end to a baby's life that includes emotional support provided to
 16 the parents, the opportunity for parents to participate in the health-
 17 care decision making process and the opportunity for parents to cele-
 18 brate their baby's life, whether such baby's life lasts for an amount of
 19 time after birth or ends naturally before birth.
 20 3. When a health care practitioner is caring for a patient who is
 21 considering abortion and such abortion would be performed more than
 22 twenty-four weeks from the commencement of pregnancy because such
 23 abortion is necessary to protect such patient's life or health, such
 24 health care practitioner shall inform such patient before any procedure

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD08204-01-5

 A. 5161 2

 1 is commenced that surgical abortion is not a reversible procedure, and
 2 that such patient shall have the option to choose sedated birth as an
 3 alternative to abortion.
 4 4. When a health care practitioner is caring for a patient who is
 5 considering abortion, such health care practitioner shall inform such
 6 patient before any procedure is commenced that surgical abortion is not
 7 a reversible procedure, and that such patient shall have the option to
 8 choose perinatal hospice, if applicable, as an alternative to abortion.
 9 5. A health care practitioner shall inform patients considering an
 10 abortion procedure about the alternatives to abortions described in this
 11 section both verbally and in writing. Health care practitioners shall
 12 document in a patient's permanent medical record the time and date that
 13 information pertaining to such alternatives was provided to the patient.
 14 6. (a) If a patient should choose sedated birth as an alternative to
 15 abortion pursuant to subdivision three of this section, the patient
 16 shall have the option once the procedure is completed to have the baby
 17 removed from such patient's presence with no additional contact post-
 18 birth, whereas constituting an abandonment of the child pursuant to
 19 section three hundred seventy-two-g of the social services law, or to
 20 have the baby put up for adoption and the o