Provides additional protections at reproductive health clinics; prohibits interference with phone lines, the release of offensive odors, and noises intended to jeopardize the health of persons receiving reproductive health services or to interfere with the safe and effective delivery of such services.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10651
IN ASSEMBLY
August 12, 2022
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. L. Rosen-
thal) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to providing additional
protections at reproductive health clinics
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 240.70 of the
2 penal law, as added by chapter 635 of the laws of 1999, is amended and
3 three new paragraphs (e), (f) and (g) are added to read as follows:
4 (d) [he or she] such person intentionally damages the property of a
5 health care facility, or attempts to do so, because such facility
6 provides reproductive health services, or intentionally damages the
7 property of a place of religious worship[.]; or
8 (e) such person makes or causes to be made repeated telephone calls to
9 a health care facility, whether or not conversation ensues, with the
10 intent to impede access to a health care facility's telephone lines or
11 otherwise disrupt a health care facility's activities; or
12 (f) such person activates a device or exposes a substance that
13 releases noxious and offensive odors within a health care facility or
14 within one hundred feet of the entrance to such health care facility; or
15 (g) such person intentionally makes noise that can be heard within a
16 health care facility, after such person has been ordered by law enforce-
17 ment to cease making such noise, with the intent to either:
18 (i) jeopardize the health of persons receiving reproductive health
19 services within the health care facility; or
20 (ii) interfere with the safe and effective delivery of reproductive
21 health services within the health care facility.
22 § 2. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part
23 of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to
24 be invalid and after exhaustion of all further judicial review, the
25 judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof,
26 but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, para-
27 graph, section or part of this act directly involved in the controversy
28 in which the judgment shall have been rendered.
29 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
30 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16094-02-2