S 758: Provides that maternal health care facilities are not required to grant doula access during emergencies or when such access could compromise the safety of the patient or health care team.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 758 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PERSAUD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to doula access during emergency situations The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 2500-m of the public health law, as amended by a 2 chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the public health law relating to 3 permitting expecting and new mothers' access to their doulas, as 4 proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 5992-A and A. 6168-A, is 5 amended to read as follows: 6 § 2500-m. Access to doulas. (a) When a person is admitted to a mater- 7 nal health care facility for delivery and/or inpatient care post-deliv- 8 ery, such person may designate a doula to have access to such person. 9 The maternal health care facility shall not deny such person access to 10 such person's designated doula. For the purposes of this section, the 11 term "maternal health care facility" shall mean a hospital or freestand- 12 ing birthing center providing perinatal services in accordance with 13 article twenty-eight of this chapter and applicable regulations. 14 (b) Nothing in this section shall require a maternal health care 15 facility to grant a doula access to a person or area of the facility 16 during emergencies or when such access could compromise the safety of 17 the patient or health care team. 18 § 2. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same 19 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the public health law 20 relating to permitting expecting and new mothers' access to their 21 doulas, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 5992-A and A. 22 6168-A, takes effect. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02834-01-5