Nine Bills Move Through Committee during Fifth Meeting of the Senate Health Committee

  The Senate Health Committee, chaired by State Senator Gustavo Rivera, moved through committee the nine bills that were included on today's Committee agenda. 

"At a time when we are immersed in a necessary conversation about the importance of consent, we voted for measures that ensure New York's healthcare practices respect a patient's autonomy because no one should be subjected to an unauthorized medical examinations. We also took another decisive step in our effort to reduce New York's alarming maternal mortality rate, especially among black mothers, by passing a bill that would require hospitals to set protocols to identify and treat obstetric hemorrhage, one of the leading causes of deaths during birth. Further, we voted to ensure that mothers have a safe, private, and comfortable places to breastfeed their children at our airports. As I said before, my colleagues and I are committed to passing common-sense measures that safeguard and improve the health of New Yorkers," said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. 

During today's meeting, committee members voted for the following bills in the following categories: 

Ensuring Ethical Medical Examinations through Informed Consent: 

• S1092B (Persaud) - Bill to amend the education law, in relation to including in the definition of professional misconduct performing a pelvic examination without consent on an anesthetized or unconscious person.

• S1693 (Krueger) - Bill to prohibit the making and/or broadcasting of visual images of individuals undergoing medical treatment without prior written consent.

• S3353 (Ramos) - Bill to inform consent for procedures in the course of education or training.

Protecting the Health of Expectant Mothers, Ensuring the Privacy of New Mothers and Providing Information about Menstrual Disorders:

• S4498A (Rivera) - Bill to establish obstetric hemorrhage protocols and provide the repeal of certain provisions upon the expiration thereof.

• S1016 (Serino) - Bill to amend the public health law, in relation to informational materials concerning menstrual disorders.

• S1544 (Kennedy) - Bill to facilitate the financing and effectuation of air terminals by the Port of New York Authority, in relation to requiring certain lactation accommodations in airports.

Other bills that passed committee: 

• S474 (Carlucci) - Bill to amend the public health law, in relation to central venous lines.

• S4181 (Salazar) - Bill to require that information be made available to parents regarding window blind safety.

• S4811 (Rivera) - Bill to establish an office of the state medical indemnity fund ombudsman and a medical indemnity fund advisory panel.