NY State Senate Bill 2025-S8713

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 07, 2026	referred to codes

2025-S8713 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9227
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§240.70, 240.71 & 240.72, Pen L

2025-S8713 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the definition of "reproductive health services" for purposes of the offense of criminal interference with health care services or religious worship in the second degree; defines "legally protected health activity"; increases the penalties for the criminal interference with health care services or religious worship in the first and second degrees, and for aggravated interference with health care services in the second degree.

2025-S8713 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8713

SPONSOR: HINCHEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to certain crimes of inter-
ference with health care services or religious worship

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to amend the Clinic Access Act to include a
greater range of reproductive health care services protected under the
legislation and to increase sentencing requirements for individuals who
interfere with providers, patients, or helpers from engaging in legally
protected health activity.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 240.70 of the penal law as follows:

Subdivision 1 of section 240.70 of the penal law is amended by replacing
reproductive health services with legally protected health care activity

and including the location from which a provider or facilitator of tele-
medicine abortion works in the definition of covered spaces.

Paragraph (e) of subdivision 3 of section 240.70 of the penal law is
amended to provide a broader definition of reproductive health services.

Paragraph (f)(i)-(ii) of subdivision 3 of section 240.70 of the penal
law is added to define legally protected health care activity. This
defines the acts, omissions, or attempts that qualify as a legally
protected health care activity and any act, omission, or attempt under-
taken to aid or encourage any person in the exercise of rights to repro-
ductive health services.

Amends the penalty for criminal interference with health care services
or religious worship in the second degree from a class A misdemeanor to
a class E felony.

Section 2 amends section 240.71 of the penal law to increase the penalty
for criminal interference with health care services or religious worship
in the first degree from a class E felony to a class D felony.

Section 3 amends section 240.72 of the penal law to increase the penalty
for aggravated interference with health care services in the second
degree from a class E felony to a class D felony.

Section 4 states that this act shall take effect on the sixtieth day
after it shall have become a law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Ensuring safe access to reproductive health care facilities and their
providers is critical to securing reproductive freedom. Meaningful
access requires that patients, providers, and helpers can engage in
reproductive health services free from harassment or intimidation.  This
principle is all the more important as reproductive care increasingly
extends beyond the physical clinic to telehealth and telemedicine, where
protections must keep pace with modern forms of care. As the federal
government attempts to restrict reproductive freedoms, it has become
increasingly important for New York to secure the rights of those seek-
ing reproductive care in response:

This bill would amend the Clinic Access Act to strengthen protections
for providers, patients, and helpers by covering legally protected
reproductive health activities not only while they are providing,
receiving, or facilitating care, but also when they are attempting to do
so or have done so in the past. In addition, the updated definition of
reproductive health services explicitly incorporates telehealth and
telemedicine provisions of care, while maintaining the requirement that
providers be licensed physicians present in New York State. This bill
also enhances the sentencing requirements for violations of the Clinic
Access Act, strengthening deterrence against those who might seek to
interfere with the provision of reproductive health set-vices.

Passage of this bill is essential to secure the reproductive freedoms
critical to the health, dignity, and equality of individuals across New
York.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2025-S8713 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8713
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 7, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to certain crimes  of  inter-
   ference with health care services or religious worship
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1.  Section 240.70 of the penal law, as added by  chapter  635
 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
 §  240.70  Criminal  interference with health care services or religious
            worship in the second degree.
   1. A person is guilty of criminal interference with health services or
 religious worship in the second degree when:
   (a) by force or threat of force or by  physical  obstruction,  [he  or
 she]  SUCH PERSON intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with,
 or attempts to injure, intimidate  or  interfere  with,  another  person
 because such other person was or is [obtaining or providing reproductive
 health services] ENGAGING IN LEGALLY PROTECTED HEALTH ACTIVITY; or
   (b)  by  force  or  threat of force or by physical obstruction, [he or
 she] SUCH PERSON intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes  with,
 or  attempts  to injure, intimidate or interfere with, another person in
 order to discourage such other person or any  other  person  or  persons
 from  [obtaining  or providing reproductive health services] ENGAGING IN
 LEGALLY PROTECTED HEALTH ACTIVITY; or
   (c) by force or threat of force or by  physical  obstruction,  [he  or
 she]  SUCH PERSON intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with,
 or attempts to injure, intimidate  or  interfere  with,  another  person
 because such person was or is seeking to exercise the right of religious
 freedom at a place of religious worship; or
   (d)  [he  or  she] SUCH PERSON intentionally damages the property of a
 health care facility, OR THE  PHYSICAL  LOCATION  FROM  WHICH  A  PERSON
 ENGAGES  IN  LEGALLY  PROTECTED  HEALTH  ACTIVITY, or attempts to do so,
 because such facility  provides  reproductive  health  services  OR  THE
 LOCATION  IS  THE  SITE  OF LEGALLY PROTECTED HEALTH ACTIVITY, or inten-
 tionally damages the property of a place of religious worship.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD13774-02-5
 S. 8713                             2
 
   2. A parent or legal guardian of a minor shall not be subject to pros-
 ecution for conduct otherwise prohibited by  paragraph  (a)  or  (b)  of
 subdivision  one  of  this section which is directed exclusively at such
 minor.
   3. For purposes of this section:
   (a)  the  term "health care facility" means a hospital, clinic, physi-
 cian's office  or  other  facility  that  provides  reproductive  health
 services,  and  includes the building or structure in which the facility
 is located;
   (b) the term "interferes with" means to restrict a person's freedom of
 movement;
   (c) the term "intimidates" means  to  place  a  person  in  reasonable
 apprehension  of  physical injury to [himself or herself] THEMSELF or to
 another person;
   (d) the term "physical obstruction" means rendering impassable ingress
 to or egress from a facility that provides reproductive health  services
 or  to  or from a place of religious worship, or rendering passage to or
 from such a facility or place of religious worship  unreasonably  diffi-
 cult or hazardous; [and]
   (e)  the  term  "reproductive  health  services"  [means  health  care
 services provided in a hospital, clinic,  physician's  office  or  other
 facility and includes medical, surgical, counseling or referral services
 relating  to  the human reproductive system, including services relating
 to pregnancy or the termination of a pregnancy.] SHALL MEAN AND  INCLUDE
 ALL  SERVICES,  CARE,  OR  PRODUCTS OF A MEDICAL, SURGICAL, PSYCHIATRIC,
 THERAPEUTIC, DIAGNOSTIC, MENTAL HEALTH, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, PREVENTATIVE,
 REHABILITATIVE,  SUPPORTIVE,  CONSULTATIVE,  REFERRAL,  PRESCRIBING,  OR
 DISPENSING  NATURE RELATING TO THE HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM PROVIDED IN
 ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONSTITUTION AND THE LAWS  OF  THIS  STATE,  WHETHER
 PROVIDED  IN  PERSON  OR  BY MEANS OF TELEHEALTH OR TELEHEALTH SERVICES,
 WHICH INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, ALL SERVICES, CARE  AND  PRODUCTS
 RELATING TO PREGNANCY, ASSISTED REPRODUCTION, CONTRACEPTION, MISCARRIAGE
 MANAGEMENT  OR  THE  TERMINATION OF A PREGNANCY, AND SELF-MANAGED TERMI-
 NATIONS; AND
   (F) THE TERM  "LEGALLY  PROTECTED  HEALTH  ACTIVITY"  SHALL  MEAN  AND
 INCLUDE  THE  FOLLOWING ACTS AND OMISSIONS BY PROVIDERS AND FACILITATORS
 OF  REPRODUCTIVE  HEALTH  SERVICES,  TO  THE  EXTENT  THEY  ARE  NOT  IN
 VIOLATION  OF  THE CONSTITUTION OR THE LAWS OF THIS STATE, PROVIDED THAT
 SUCH PROVIDER IS PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN THE STATE:
   (I) THE EXERCISE OR ATTEMPTED EXERCISE BY  ANY  PERSON  OF  RIGHTS  TO
 REPRODUCTIVE  HEALTH  SERVICES AS SECURED BY THE CONSTITUTION OR LAWS OF
 THIS STATE OR THE PROVISION OF INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR SUCH  SERVICES  OR
 CARE; AND
   (II) ANY ACT OR OMISSION UNDERTAKEN TO AID OR ENCOURAGE, OR ATTEMPT TO
 AID  OR  ENCOURAGE,  ANY PERSON IN THE EXERCISE OR ATTEMPTED EXERCISE OF
 RIGHTS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES AS SECURED BY THE CONSTITUTION OR
 LAWS OF THIS STATE, OR TO PROVIDE INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR  SUCH  SERVICES
 OR  CARE;  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  THAT  THE PROVISION OF SUCH REPRODUCTIVE
 HEALTH SERVICES BY A PERSON DULY LICENSED UNDER THE LAWS OF  THIS  STATE
 AND  PHYSICALLY  PRESENT  IN  THIS  STATE AND THE PROVISION OF INSURANCE
 COVERAGE FOR SUCH SERVICES OR CARE SHALL BE A LEGALLY  PROTECTED  HEALTH
 ACTIVITY  IF  THE  SERVICE  OR  CARE IS PERMITTED UNDER THE LAWS OF THIS
 STATE, REGARDLESS OF THE PATIENT'S LOCATION.
   Criminal interference with health care services or  religious  worship
 in the second degree is a class [A misdemeanor] E FELONY.
 S. 8713                             3
 
   § 2. Section 240.71 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 493 of the
 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
 §  240.71  Criminal  interference with health care services or religious
              worship in the first degree.
   A person is guilty of criminal interference with health care  services
 or  religious  worship  in the first degree when [he or she] SUCH PERSON
 commits the crime of criminal interference with health care services  or
 religious worship in the second degree and has been previously convicted
 of the crime of criminal interference with health care services or reli-
 gious  worship  in the first or second degree or aggravated interference
 with health care services in the first or second degree.
   Criminal interference with health care services or  religious  worship
 in the first degree is a class [E] D felony.
   §  3.  Section 240.72 of the penal law, as added by chapter 493 of the
 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
 § 240.72 Aggravated interference with health care services in the second
              degree.
   A person is guilty of the crime of aggravated interference with health
 care services in the second degree when [he or she] SUCH PERSON  commits
 the  crime  of  criminal interference with health care services or reli-
 gious worship in violation  of  paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision  one  of
 section  240.70  of  this  article and thereby causes physical injury to
 such other person who was  obtaining  or  providing,  or  was  assisting
 another person to obtain or provide reproductive health services.
   Aggravated interference with health care services in the second degree
 is a class [E] D felony.
   §  4.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

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Senate Bill S8713

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Actions

2025-S8713 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S8713 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S8713 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8713 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Michelle Hinchey

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Actions

2025-S8713 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S8713 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S8713 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8713 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments