FILE - In this Oct. 2, 2019 file photo, an abortion opponent sings to herself outside the Jackson Womens Health Organization clinic in Jackson, Miss. Three judges from a conservative federal appeals court are hearing arguments, Monday, Oct. 7, over a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed the law in 2018, the state’s only abortion clinic immediately sued and U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves blocked the law from taking effect. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Legislation introduced in the state Assembly would require health insurance providers to provide coverage for abortion procedures wherever maternity care is provided.

A.7573 is sponsored by Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, D-East Elmhurst, and co-sponsored by Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, D-New York City. Companion legislation has not yet been introduced in the state Senate. The legislation has been referred to the Assembly Insurance Committee.

“The ability for people to control their reproductive lives — including the ability to end a pregnancy — is a cornerstone of reproductive health and justice,” Gonzalez-Rojas wrote in her legislative justification. “Opponents have worked to erode access by excluding reproductive health care from insurance coverage, rendering access to care cost-prohibitive for too many people. Our state’s history stands against this: New York has a long legacy of requiring coverage of reproductive health care in both our public and private insurance programs.”

According to a March NBC News story, more than 500 abortion restrictions have been introduced in 44 states through late March 2021, compared to around 300 at this time in 2019. The information was compiled by Planned Parenthood with data compiled by the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights research organization.

At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization during its fall term. At issue is a 2018 Mississippi abortion law that bars abortions after 15 weeks with limited exceptions. The law was blocked by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Under existing Supreme Court precedent, states may not ban abortions that occur prior to fetal viability, generally around 22 weeks or later. Mississippi officials are asking the Supreme Court to reexamine the viability standard, arguing the 15-week rule keeps states from defending maternal health and the life of an unborn child. The Jackson Women’s Health Organization has argued that Supreme Court precedent allows each person the right to decide whether to continue a pre-viability pregnancy.

“Given states and the federal government’s hostility toward abortion, it is particularly critical that New York continue this legacy by enacting legislation that codifies in statute the requirement that private insurers cover abortion,” Gonzalez-Rojas wrote. “This will reduce barriers to abortion care in New York and build on the momentum of other states that have already passed similar requirements. This legislation would codify a requirement that insurance plans cover abortion where they already cover maternity care — this would improve upon, and fill gaps in, the current regulatory coverage requirement and create parity between types of pregnancy-related care.”