NOW - NEW YORK STATE SUPPORT MEMO
A-01409 (Stringer) - Criminalizes Photographing of Persons Entering and Leaving Reproductive Health Care Facilities
March 2005 |
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The National Organization for Women - New York State, Inc. strongly supports legislation that would criminalize the photographing of persons entering or leaving reproductive health care services facilities as aggravated harassment in the third degree.
Photographing persons entering or leaving a hospital, clinic, physician’s office or any other reproductive health care facility is not only an intimidation tactic used by anti-choice protesters, it is aggravated harassment. Photographs could be, and often are, used to target individuals for further harassment or violence. Such an action betrays the patient’s privacy and impedes their access to proper health care and services.
Family planning clinics and other health care facilities play a major role in the health care system for many women and teens. Clinics provide not only family planning services but serve over 300,000 low income women through early detection and treatment of pathologies related to heart, lung, urologic and thyroid systems, as well as hypertension, cancer, diabetes, anemia, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV infection and many more. Women rely on health care clinics for prenatal care, breast and cervical cancer screening and other basic primary care. Abortion and family planning counseling are only two of the services provided by women’s health clinics.
Women must not be intimidated into neglecting their health care needs because of the actions of anti-abortion zealots who use harassment to impose their narrow views on the health care delivery system. Women and teens of New York State have the right to obtain needed health care services without intimidation, harassment or threats.
NOW-NYS, Inc. strongly urges the New York State Legislature to pass this legislation and protect the right of women to access proper reproductive health services without fear or intimidation.
Marcia A. Pappas, President, NOW-NYS, Inc.
Lori Gardner, Executive VP
Barbara Kirkpatrick, Legislative Vice President
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