Westchester Passes Reproductive Health Care Facilities Access Act

WHITE PLAINS, NY — New legislation ensuring safe access to reproductive health care facilities in Westchester County was signed into law Monday night after being passed by the county Board of Legislators.

The new law, which was passed 15-2 and will go into effect immediately, will protect health care workers and patients seeking medical treatment from being obstructed from entering or exiting a reproductive health care facility and from harassing behavior from persons within specific distances of the premises.

Legislators approved the law in the wake of the United States Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case that overturned Roe v. Wade, the 50-year-old landmark decision that had made abortion legal throughout the country.

"We want to protect the women who need these services from aggressive advocacy that exceeds free speech and becomes intimidation and interference with their personal safety," said Westchester County George Latimer.

Board Chairwoman Catherine Borgia, D-Cortlandt, was one of the legislation's original sponsors.

She said, because of the Supreme Court decision, women will be looking to New York for sanctuary to reclaim their bodily autonomy, and now Westchester is ready for them.

"Any person who travels to our county seeking reproductive care can access it safely without intimidation or provocation," Borgia said. "I hope other counties can see the urgency and importance of this law and consider it for their jurisdictions, as well."

The new law enacts a 25-foot no-harassment zone around a facility's perimeter and establishes the designation of an 8-foot personal space bubble surrounding the person within 100 feet of the facility, according to a board spokesperson.

Catherine Lederer-Plaskett, president of Choice Matters, recalled when a White Plains clinic was invaded in November 2021 by three members of Red Rose Rescue, an anti-abortion organization. Three men were arrested and found guilty of trespass in March.

She said the new law protects the inside of clinics as well as those outside looking for safe access to medical facilities.

"This means Westchester-ites as well as anyone coming to our county for health care will be greeted with a message: You Are Safe Here!" Lederer-Plaskett wrote in a prepared statement.