USANewsOnline.Com Desk, New York, NY: Today, the City Council adopted Council Member Shahana Hanif’s legislation, Intros 475 and 474. These landmark pieces of legislation are part of a package of bills championed by the Council’s Women’s Caucus in response to the overturning of Roe v Wade earlier this month. Intro 475 is designed to help people who obtain abortions in New York City but reside in an anti-choice state. This bill will allow individuals who obtain reproductive or trans-affirming care in the City but face a civil lawsuit in their home state to countersuit in New York City.
Modeled after similar legislation already in place in states like Connecticut, Hanif’s bill will protect people from across the country, who seek abortion care in New York City, against the threat of harmful legal action in their anti-choice home state.
Intro 474 will mandate the City conduct an outreach campaign across the five boroughs to educate New Yorkers on their reproductive healthcare rights, including the right not to be physically impeded from accessing an abortion clinic as well as employment and housing anti-discrimination protections regarding reproductive decisions. This outreach campaign will also educate New Yorkers around the private right of action individuals can take if their reproductive rights are violated or impede individuals or entities that block critical reproductive care.
The full abortion rights legislative package passed by the Council today represents the most significant action the City has taken on abortion rights since abortion was legalized in New York over 50 years ago.
“This package of bills is a message to all people that if you need an abortion, New York City is here to help. Our City will always be a refuge for anyone who needs access to safe and legal abortions no matter what the illegitimate Supreme Court says,”
said Council Member Shahana Hanif. “I’m overjoyed that the Council has passed my legislation to ensure all New Yorkers understand their rights to unencumbered access to safe and legal reproductive healthcare. Additionally, our Council will now provide anyone who obtains an abortion in our City with the necessary legal tools to protect their rights. This new private right to action is a critical protection that will ensure anyone who seeks reproductive care in our City can fight back against harmful anti-choice witch hunts. I’m proud of this Council and of the work of our colleagues in Albany to ensure abortion rights are protected, but we must not forget that the federal government still needs to act to protect the rights of millions across the country. The time for bold action is now.”
“This bill sends a strong message that New York City will protect anyone receiving essential healthcare in the five boroughs,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “Allowing people to counter sue those trying to punish them for exercising body autonomy will protect anyone coming to New York City to receive or perform an abortion. I’m honored to partner with Council Member Hanif and the entire Women’s Caucus as they continue to stand up for reproductive rights while other states continue to pass radical, anti-choice legislation.”
“It is going to take an immense groundswell of action to get what we really need, the guaranteed right to a safe, legal abortion, on demand, without apology, and at no dollar cost, for anyone who determines that they need one," said Council Member Tiffany Cabán.
"What we can do today is ensure that New York is a #SafeCity for anyone receiving, performing, or assisting in abortion care. I am proud that so many of my colleagues have risen to this occasion and crafted a wide array of legislation to counteract the illegitimate extremist Supreme Court's attack on all people who can get pregnant.”
“In this moment, the country needs New York’s leadership. Half the country is moving with lightning speed to ban abortion, and access to care in many parts of the country is already a fiction,” said Jenna Lauter, Equal Justice Fellow at the New York Civil Liberties Union.
“We applaud Council Member Hanif for introducing legislation that will help ensure New York City remains an accessible city for those who need reproductive care. Five decades ago, and three years before the Court decided Roe, New York first opened its doors to people from across the U.S. who needed abortion care, and we are called to do so once again.”
“New York City has always served as a safe haven for all walks of life, and reproductive healthcare is no different. Whether someone is seeking an abortion or care for a miscarriage, we must ensure that all patients —including the marginalized — are provided with accurate information throughout their processes,” said Council Member Farah Louis. “Patients and families deserve to know they are safe when seeking care from a reproductive health clinic. By establishing a public education program to inform the public of these protections, we are prioritizing the safety of patients and their physicians. Violating basic human and healthcare privacy rights is not in the nature of New York City. It is not the way of true New Yorkers committed to equity. I will always support families and patients seeking equitable reproductive care. I will continue to support providers of equitable reproductive care.”

About Council Member Shahana Hanif: Council Member Shahana Hanif is the newly elected Council Member for Brooklyn’s 39th District and Chair of the Council's Immigration Committee. Born and raised in Kensington, Brooklyn, she is the daughter of two Bangladeshi Muslim immigrants. An activist, community organizer, and public servant, she is a proud graduate of public schools P.S. 230 and Brooklyn College. Before being elected to office, she served as the Director of Organizing and Community Engagement for then Council Member, now Comptroller, Brad Lander, where she led grassroots
initiatives like Participatory Budgeting. Shahana is the first Muslim woman ever elected to the New York City Council and the first woman Council Member for the 39th District. Press Release.