Bill Text: NY S05991 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Requires maternal healthcare facilities to permit doulas to be present in the operating room while a cesarean section is being performed.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-01-23 - returned to senate [S05991 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S05991-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5991

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     March 24, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. PERSAUD, ADDABBO, FERNANDEZ, SEPULVEDA -- read twice
          and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
          on Women's Issues

        AN  ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to permitting doulas
          to be present in the operating room while a cesarean section is  being
          performed

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding  a  new  section
     2  2500-l to read as follows:
     3    §  2500-l.  Cesarean  section;  persons present. 1. No person shall be
     4  denied the ability to have a doula present in the  operating  room,  for
     5  the duration such person is in an operating room, when such person is in
     6  the operating room for the purposes of a cesarean section.
     7    2.  The department shall require all maternal healthcare facilities to
     8  include and/or post  on  the  maternal  healthcare  facility's  webpage,
     9  lobby,  and  patient waiting areas information stating a birthing parent
    10  is allowed to have a doula present in the operating room, for the  dura-
    11  tion  of such person is in an operating room, when such person is in the
    12  operating room for the purposes of a cesarean section. Such  information
    13  shall  be written in layperson's language and shall be made available in
    14  English and the six most common non-English languages spoken by individ-
    15  uals with limited English proficiency in New York state as based on  the
    16  most  recent  census.  The department shall produce and provide maternal
    17  healthcare facilities with informational pamphlets  stating  a  birthing
    18  parent  shall  be allowed to have a doula present in the operating room,
    19  for the duration of such person is  in  an  operating  room,  when  such
    20  person  is in the operating room for the purposes of a cesarean section.
    21  The informational pamphlet shall be: available in each  patient  waiting
    22  area as a printed deliverable; written in layperson's language; and made
    23  available  in  English  and  the  six  most common non-English languages

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10162-02-3
        S. 5991                             2

     1  spoken by individuals with limited English proficiency in New York state
     2  as based on the most recent census.
     3    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.