Res 0070-2022

Whereas, Abortion, a medical procedure that ends pregnancy, is a basic healthcare need for millions of women, girls and others who can become pregnant; and Whereas, According to a 2017 study published in the American Journal of Public Health, 24 percent of women aged 15 to 44 years old will have an abortion by the age of 45; and Whereas, The rate of unintended pregnancy in the United States is higher than that in many other industrialized countries: a 2016 study by the Guttmacher Institute found that 45 percent (approximately 2.8 million) pregnancies were unintended in 2011, including three out of four pregnancies to women younger than 20 years old; and Whereas, Unintended pregnancies disproportionately affect economically disadvantaged women, women aged 18-24, cohabitating women and women of color; and Whereas, Studies have demonstrated that increasing access to family planning and reproductive health services can help reduce pregnancy-related deaths and empower women; and Whereas, Despite the common and necessary nature of this health care service, economic and logistical barriers can make it difficult to access to safe and legal abortion care; and Whereas, A.1926, sponsored by New York State Assembly Member Karines Reyes, and S.758, sponsored by State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, would create an abortion access fund that taxpayers could voluntarily contribute to when they file their personal income taxes; and Whereas, In 2019, the State Legislature passed the Reproductive Health Act, affirming the fundamental right to abortion care in the state of New York; and Whereas, The City of New York made history in 2019 when it became the first city nationwide to directly fund abortion by allocating $250,000 for the New York Abortion Access Fund, to allow about 500 low-income people, including those who travel from other states to obtain abortions, to terminate their pregnancies; and Whereas, As states across the country continue to enact dangerous legislation to restrict or outright ban access to abortion care, New York must continue to demonstrate its strong commitment to reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy; and Whereas, A.1926/S.758 provides an effective way to improve access to abortion, and allows the majority of New York taxpayers, who support the right, the ability to personally contribute to entities that help breakdown economic barriers to this basic healthcare; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign A.1926/S.758, an act to amend the tax law and the state finance law, in relation to allowing taxpayers to make a gift to the abortion access fund on their personal income tax returns. Session 12 CP LS #3689 1/19/2022 2:34 PM Session 11 CGR LS #13215 2