NYC Could Start Collecting More Data On Reproductive Health

CITY HALL, NY — New York City council members voted on Wednesday to pass three bills that would publicize more data on reproductive health throughout the city.

All three bills will go to Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is expected to sign them, according to City Hall staffers who worked on the legislation. Patch has reached out to de Blasio's office for comment, and we'll update this post if we hear back.

The package of bills asks the city's health department to collect and publish more data on reproductive and women's health to the City Council. The bills cover data on the contraceptives, vaccinations for the human papillomavirus and maternal mortality rates.

Council member Elizabeth Crowley, who represents district 30 in Queens, sponsored the bill and spoke about its impact before council members voted to pass it.

"All over the country, women’s health and reproductive rights are being attacked," Crowley said in council chambers on Wednesday. “Today’s bills are necessary to protect those rights."

Crowley said the data would allow the city to know which residents are being reached by health initiatives and where health facilities are falling short.

Here's the data that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene would be required to send to City Council under the bills:

• The number of New Yorkers who have received the HPV vaccine, broken down by age and stage of the multi-part vaccine.
• Data on the use of contraceptive methods by New York City residents, broken down by age, education, race and community district.
• Data on maternal mortality numbers and rates, broken down by race and borough.

All three bills were unanimously passed.