S 6502: Requires gynecological services to be offered to incarcerated individuals with cervixes unless such individuals decline such services in writing.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6502 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE March 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Women's Issues AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to requiring gynecologi- cal services to be offered to certain incarcerated individuals The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The correction law is amended by adding a new section 140-a 2 to read as follows: 3 § 140-a. Provision for access to gynecological services. 1. All people 4 with cervixes confined to a state or local correctional facility shall 5 be provided annual access to gynecological services and visits with a 6 licensed gynecologist, at no cost. Such services and visits shall be 7 provided in accordance with standards developed in consultation with the 8 department of health and the American college of obstetricians and gyne- 9 cologists. 10 2. Any person with a cervix confined to a state or local correctional 11 facility who wishes to decline the provision of such services set forth 12 in subdivision one of this section shall do so in writing. Each correc- 13 tional facility shall furnish a report to the commissioner each January 14 stating the percentage of eligible confined persons who received gyneco- 15 logical services, the percentage who declined services, and copies of 16 all written documents evidencing declined services. 17 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 140 of the correction law, as added by 18 chapter 516 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows: 19 2. Subject to the regulations of the department of health, routine 20 medical, dental and mental health services and treatment is defined for 21 the purposes of this section to mean any routine diagnosis or treatment, 22 including without limitation the provision of gynecological services for 23 incarcerated individuals with cervixes, the administration of medica- 24 tions or nutrition, the extraction of bodily fluids for analysis, and 25 dental care performed with a local anesthetic. Routine mental health EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10942-01-5 
 S. 6502 2 1 treatment shall not include psychiatric administration of medication 2 unless it is part of an ongoing mental health plan or unless it is 3 otherwise authorized by law. 4 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 505 of the correction law, as added by 5 chapter 437 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows: 6 2. Subject to the regulations of the department of health, routine 7 medical, dental and mental health services and treatment is defined for 8 the purposes of this section to mean any routine diagnosis or treatment, 9 including without limitation the provision of gynecological services for 10 incarcerated individuals with cervixes, the administration of medica- 11 tions or nutrition, the extraction of bodily fluids for analysis, and 12 dental care performed with a local anesthetic. Routine mental health 13 treatment shall not include psychiatric administration of medication 14 unless it is part of an ongoing mental health plan or unless it is 15 otherwise authorized by law. 16 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.