Maintaining bodily autonomy and consent during pregnancy

New York has long positioned itself as a national leader in protecting reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. But if our state is going to remain a beacon for reproductive freedom, we must implement policies that safeguard patients’ ability to make informed decisions about their own medical care — including during pregnancy. Pregnancy should never strip anyone of their right to bodily autonomy or informed medical decisionmaking.

Yet across New York, pregnant patients are still being subjected to drug testing during pregnancy and childbirth without their knowledge or consent — a practice that can trigger traumatic Child Protective Services investigations and unnecessary family separations in the earliest days of a newborn’s life.

At a moment when reproductive rights are under attack nationally, New York should not tolerate policies that treat pregnant people as subjects of surveillance rather than patients deserving of trust, dignity, and bodily autonomy — including this nonconsensual drug testing. These practices disproportionately harm Black mothers and families, deepening longstanding racial disparities in both maternal healthcare and the child welfare system.

As co-chair of the Health Committee for NYCD16/15-Indivisible, I have spent years advocating around inequities in maternal healthcare. One reality has continued to haunt me: Black New Yorkers are more than four times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes as their white counterparts. Policies that erode trust between pregnant patients and their healthcare providers only worsen those disparities. That is why I strongly support the Maternal Health, Dignity and Consent Act, S845/A860.

This legislation would require that health care providers obtain informed consent before conducting drug or alcohol testing on pregnant or postpartum patients and newborns, except in medical emergencies. It would not interfere with emergency care or child safety protections. Instead, it would establish a basic standard of transparency and bodily autonomy that should already exist in every healthcare setting.

Fear of being tested without consent can discourage pregnant people from seeking prenatal care. That fear is especially acute for Black women and low-income families, who are disproportionately subjected to these practices despite similar rates of substance use across racial groups.

Reproductive rights are human rights. Safeguarding them means protecting the right to parent children in safe and healthy environments without unnecessary government intrusion, punishment or surveillance.

At a time when so many personal freedoms are under threat nationwide, New York must act to uphold and strengthen these rights. The Maternal Health, Dignity and Consent Act would do this by protecting pregnant New Yorkers and their newborns, and we urge the majority leader and Senate to pass it now.

Judy Fletcher is the co-chair of the Health Committee for NYCD16/15-Indivisible.