NJ Legislature acts to protect abortion providers, patients
By: Katie Sobko
and Lindy Washburn
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Lawmakers in both the Senate and the Assembly approved legislation Wednesday [06/28/2022] to protect abortion providers and individuals from other states who seek reproductive health services in New Jersey.
..... Two bills will be sent to Governor Phil Murphy's desk after passing both houses of the Legislature. The first would prohibit people who receive or preform an abortion in New Jersey from begin extradited to a state that restricts or criminalizes abortion.
..... The second would bar public agencies in New Jersey from providing information to help in investigations by states that criminalize abortion. It would also require New Jersey abortion providers to obtain written consent from patients before releasing their information to those states.
..... The bills were introduced last month, [05/2022] but they received renewed interest after the U.S. Supreme Court decision las week [06/24/2022] to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion and returning decisions about abortion rights to individual states.
..... About half of the states are expected to have complete or nearly complete bans on abortion soon. In the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision, a patch-work of abortion restrictions is evolving as trigger laws in some states - intended to take effect after Roe was overturned - snap into place and, in some pl;aces, are challenged, while other states await legislative action.
..... New Jersey residents have the right to an abortion with no mandatory waiting periods, no parents notification rules for minors and no limits on the gestational age of the fetus. There are no bans on state funding through Medicaid or other insurance programs.
.....
In January, [2022] in anticipation of last week's [06/24/2022] decision by the Supreme Court, the New Jersey Legislature and Murphy codified the protections that had been in Roe v. Wade. That legislation, the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act, passed with the votes of 23 of the Senate's 24 Democrats and 46 of the Assembly's 52 Democrats - and no Republican votes.
..... The state also changed its regulations last year, [2021] to make it possible for some licensed medical professionals other than physicians to perform abortions. These include advanced practice nurse, physician assistants, certified nurses midwives and certified midwives - nearly 17,000 providers who could choose to be trained in abortion procedures.
..... With the availability of abortion services at more than 75 sites, New Jersey could become a haven for those from more restrictive states who are seeking the procedure. Twenty-six states, mostly in the South and Midwest, are considered certain or likely to ban abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that advocates for abortion rights. New Jersey is one of 16 states where abortion rights are protected.
..... In 2019, more than 1m300 out-of-state residents received abortion in New Jersey, according to the latest data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
..... Murphy has made it clear he is interested in doing more. he also has proposed mandating insurance coverage for abortion with no out-of-pockets costs to the patient,s and a $20 million allocation of state funds to train providers, increase security and expand and modernize abortion facilities