NYMP Laws & Orders #5: Albany Edition

Medical freedom advocates in New York traveled to the state capital this week to lobby against legislative proposals. Listen to speakers at their rally and get a rundown of what they're opposing.

Going up to Albany to lobby lawmakers as the New York State legislative session begins in January has become an annual event for medical freedom advocates who opposed the COVID-19 vaccine mandates imposed by New York City and the state.

Now they’re lobbying against state legislative proposals and an amendment to the state constitution that will be on the ballot this November. There was a long list of sponsors for the lobbying effort this year on January 23rd:

Autism Action Network, Bravest for Choice, Teachers for Choice, Cafecito Break, Children’s Health Defense, Children’s Health Defense New York Chapter, Cops 4 Freedom, Court Workers for Choice, Do We Need This?, Educators for Freedom, Finest for Choice, Finest Unfiltered, Folding Chairs, Frederick Douglass Foundation, Latinos for Choice, Medical Professionals for Informed Consent, Moms for Liberty Suffolk & Nassau, My Kids My Choice, New Yorkers Against Medical Mandates, New York Alliance for Vaccine Rights, New York Freedom Rally, New York Health Voters, New York Workers for Choice, Progressive Action, Restore Childhood, Rockland Bergen Health Freedom Alliance, Sons & Daughters of Liberty, Strongest for Choice, Uniting NYS

Here’s a look at the proposals they oppose:

S8113/A2125: Bill to prohibit nonmedical exemptions to vaccine requirements

It would repeal religious exemptions for post-secondary students and “prohibit organizations and entities that have immunization requirements from permitting any non-medical exemption to such requirements and stipulate that any provision of a law, rule, regulation or policy that allows for a medical exemption shall be deemed null and void.”

In other words, no more religious exemptions for adults in New York State.

S8352/A6761: Bill to allow minors to consent to medical procedures and enroll in Medicaid independently

Passing this bill would create an “act to amend the public health law, the mental hygiene law, the social services law, and the insurance law, in relation to allowing certain youth to give effective consent to medical, dental, health, and/or hospital services and immunizations.”

What do the sponsors mean by “certain youth”? Minors who are considered “decisionally-capable.”

The bill also includes provisions for allowing minors to enroll in Medicaid independently, keep their medical records confidential, have their insurance information sent to an address other than their home, and "suppress that information from any online portal their parent(s) or guardian(s) may use to access explanations of benefits.”

The sponsors emphasize the need for minors who are homeless or in “unsafe family relationships” to be able to receive medical care, but they also use open-ended language referring to minors “who are unable to involve their families to seek and receive necessary health care.”

S6103: Bill to allow minors aged 14 and up to receive vaccinations without parental consent

The sponsors of this bill are explicit about its purpose of circumventing parents who are opposed to some or all vaccinations, noting that “In January of 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) listed the anti-vaccination movement to be one of the top ten threats to global health.”

This measure would simply allow any health care practitioner to administer any vaccine to a person age 14 or older who “has the capacity to consent and provides informed consent.”

S1531/A7154: Bill to create state-level tracking systems for adult vaccinations

This bill would “require health care providers who administer vaccines to a person 19 years of age or older to report all such vaccinations to the New York State Department of Health, or for health care providers located in New York City, the New York City Department of Health.” It includes an option for people who object to opt out of having their vaccination reported.

A2762B: Bill to allow minors to receive drugs and vaccinations related to sexually transmitted diseases without parental consent or knowledge

This bill would allow minors of any age to receive treatments and vaccinations related to sexually transmitted diseases from a variety of health care providers, “without the consent or knowledge of the parents or guardians.”

Equal Rights Amendment / Senate Bill S108A

This bill has been passed by the State Senate and will be on the ballot for New Yorkers in November 2024 as an amendment to the state constitution. If the yes vote wins, section 11 of Article I, the Bill of Rights, will be amended to read:

§ 11. a. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws of this state or any subdivision thereof. No person shall, because of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed, religion, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy, be subjected to any discrimination in their civil rights by any other person or by any firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state, pursuant to law.

b. Nothing in this section shall invalidate or prevent the adoption of any law, regulation, program, or practice that is designed to prevent or dismantle discrimination on the basis of a characteristic listed in this section, nor shall any characteristic listed in this section be interpreted to interfere with, limit, or deny the civil rights of any person based upon any other characteristic identified in this section.

It is presumably the inclusion of age on the list of new protected classes that opponents find problematic in relation to parental rights. I’ll be interested in hearing more details from the amendment’s critics, especially attorney Bobbie Anne Cox, who filed a lawsuit against it in October 2023.

So now you know which legislative proposals the people who went to Albany are against.

Here’s what some of them had to say about it at the rally, which was MC’d by Michael Kane from Teachers for Choice:

Attorney Sujata Gibson speaks at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York, January 23, 2024.

Attorney Bobbie Anne Cox speaks at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York, January 23, 2024.

Attorney Tricia Lindsay speaks at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York, January 23, 2024.

Medical Professionals for Informed Consent member Margaret Florini speaks at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York, January 23, 2024.

Laws & Orders is a periodic dispatch from the New York Mandate Podcast that gives a rundown of recent legal, regulatory, and policy developments related to the pandemic and its aftermath, with a New York focus.