Press Room

Today, the New York City Council will vote on major legislation aimed at supporting maternal health and wellness and particularly targeted at reducing Black maternal mortality and pervasive maternal health disparities. The legislation, sponsored by Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams and co-prime sponsored by Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson, would create a maternal health bill of rights, and ensure that all pregnant people in New York City have access to that information when they need it most. The legislation is expected to pass, after being approved by the Committee on Health on Wednesday.

In the United States, Black women are three times more likely to die during childbirth than their white counterparts – in New York City, Black women are eight to twelve times more likely to die. This is often rooted in medical personnel overlooking, minimizing, or dismissing the health concerns of Black patients. Action on these issues is decades overdue, and while the current administration has taken some steps to address this inequity, maternal mortality and morbidity remains a problem – especially for Black women and pregnant people. Today’s vote is a massive step forwards for all pregnant people in the five boroughs, and towards building a safer and more equitable New York City.

“Birth equity is a social justice issue — and it’s one that’s especially urgent and deadly in New York City,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “This public health crisis is both under-acknowledged and under-addressed, but today, City Council will take invaluable and concrete steps to protect pregnant people in New York City. Through the creation of a maternal health bill of rights with dedicated and sustained outreach to inform people of those rights, we are ensuring that these rights are upheld and New Yorkers are empowered to demand what they deserve. New York City cannot end the maternal mortality divide alone, so we are also calling on the federal government to pass and enact the Momnibus Act to save lives across the country. Thank you to Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson for your partnership on both this bill and this issue, and to the City Council for taking up these bills.”

The first bill being voted on by the New York City Council today is Intro 86-A, a landmark piece of legislation that will establish a maternal health bill of rights and ensure a standard set of care for all pregnant people in New York City. It will require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), together with the Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and community organizations, to create a public education campaign in facilities that provide obstetric and gynecological care informing patients about the City Standards for Respectful Care at Birth, the right to be free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition, and health care proxy forms.

The legislation will also require DOHMH to inform patients about the right to reasonable accommodations in the workplace, and New York's paid family leave program through promotional materials at their locations. Information is essential to body autonomy and empowering people to seek the care they deserve, and anyone giving birth in New York City should know the rights and options available to them.

The Council will also vote on Resolution 92, which calls on the United States Congress to pass and President Joseph Biden to sign the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021. The federal legislation would provide grant funding for maternal health research, fund community based organizations focused on Black maternal health, and invest in a wide range of tools to improve maternal health outcomes, particularly in underserved areas and among marginalized groups. The Act also would also ensure continuity of health insurance coverage for the duration of labor, delivery, and postpartum care.

Resolution 244, which calls on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to increase funding for By My Side, a doula program under Healthy Start Brooklyn, will also be voted on by the City Council. By My Side and Healthy Start Brooklyn bring care to communities too often underserved, and lower the economic barriers that have prevented some pregnant people from seeking critical care. With greater funding, By My Side can provide doulas to all low-income birthing people in New York City – a critical advocate in the delivery room, especially for New Yorkers of more color – and expand their prenatal, obstetric, and postpartum care.

This critical legislation comes amid a years long push in the Office of the Public Advocate to end the maternal mortality crisis in New York City, and only months after the Public Advocate shared his own family’s struggles with maternal health.

This winter, after a long fertility struggle, a difficult pregnancy, and premature delivery, the Public Advocate and his wife welcomed their newborn daughter, Amani Elisadora. They have shared their story publicly in recent weeks and months in the hopes that it helps other New Yorkers feel supported, heard, and receive the care they need.

Last year, the Office of Public Advocate released an extensive report on the maternal mortality crisis, entitled Equitable Pregnancy Outcomes for Black and Brown New Yorkers, which analyzes systemic issues and outlines potential policy solutions.

“We are in a state of emergency in our country when Black women are still three times more likely to die during childbirth and the mortality rate is even higher for Black women living in New York City,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. “Black birthing individuals in our city and across the United States, deserve to receive culturally sensitive, patient-centered care that is attuned to their unique needs free of bias and racism that has resulted in the deaths of too many pregnant people. With today`s legislation, we are saying enough is enough, and that New York City will take action to ensure birthing persons are aware of their rights and are protected under the law. Thank you to Public Advocate Jumaane Williams for his partnership in pushing Intro 86-A forward, Speaker Adrienne Adams, the Women`s Caucus, and our doulas, midwives, and birth workers for their advocacy in ensuring all birthing individuals in our city receive the unbiased maternal care that they deserve before, during, and after childbirth.”

"Reproductive rights are human rights and we all, by birthright and citizenship, deserve to experience those rights equitably and humanely," Shawnee Benton Gibson, activist and Co-Founder of the ARIAH Foundation. "The enactment and application of this legislation is one part of a comprehensive plan to save the lives of black mothers, birthing people and babies across New York City who are most impacted by the scourge of maternal morbidity and mortality. As a reproductive activist and advocate, I see this legislation as one of many pathways toward activating and elevating birth equity and restorative justice. We must continue to repair the ruptures in the reproductive healthcare system so that the quality of care for BIPOC community members is aligned with what they desire and deserve."

"As a black mother, pre and post-natal care aren't the same for all mothers," said NYC Council Majority Whip Selvena N. Brooks-Powers. "Creating standards of care, similar to a healthcare bill of rights, ensures that all patients, no matter race or creed, are treated fairly and equitably, provided vital information through a public education campaign. I applaud NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, my City Council colleagues, and the courageous advocates for continuing to safeguard all mothers' healthcare."

“I’m proud to join my colleagues today as we vote on a bold legislative package that will give New Yorkers and their families safe birth options for New Yorkers and their families, including access to doulas and appropriate communication about the risks of c-sections,” said Council Member Carlina Rivera. “Pregnant people shouldn’t have to fight for what’s essential to their health. This package is a blueprint for equity and accountability – now let’s get it passed.”

"Living with COVID doesn’t mean ignoring it. As cases are rising, the city must reinstate a color-coded COVID threat assessment system to better inform and guide people trying to protect themselves and their families amid an ongoing pandemic. Our office pushed for the creation of such a system for months. When this administration created one, it was already out of compliance with its own system – then ignored that system when the alert level was raised. While it’s true that our tools and strategies must evolve with the virus, those methods and metrics must be clear to New Yorkers.

"In line with those adapting approaches, it is past time for the city to support hybrid models of work wherever possible. My office is working remotely currently, and when we return in person, it will be on a hybrid schedule.

"Private companies are recognizing the new reality and offering hybrid options to prospective employees, and the city should be leading as a model, not lagging behind and losing valuable talent by creating unnecessary barriers and risks. Employees and employers alike know that hybrid work systems are possible. While clearly not all municipal jobs have the potential for hybrid work, exploring and enabling hybrid systems wherever possible is essential for a safer city and stronger workforce.

"For New York City to best serve its residents, it must hire and retain the best employees. Right now, the administration is chasing them away."

“The Fourth of July, Independence Day, celebrates America’s founding as a nation, and the principles it was meant to be founded upon. Equality, justice, and liberty for all are values worth celebrating, but ones we have yet to truly, fully realize in our country, nearly 250 years after they were proclaimed with its independence.

“We should not let these founding ideals be co-opted for an antithetical agenda. Freedom includes freedom from preventable violence, freedom to have a safe and affordable place to live, freedom to exercise bodily autonomy, freedom to be who you are and love without fear, freedom to drink clean water and breathe clean air. Valuing independence does not mean failing to support and uplift one another in times of struggle.

“To be American – to fight tirelessly to make America a better home for all within its borders and a better ally for those who need it – is to live with the constant tension of what our country is, what it has been, and still see and aspire to a greater, fuller, more equal future.

“It can feel strange to celebrate today in a time of such pain and struggle, as so many institutions relentlessly attack our rights and our freedoms, as too much of Frederick Douglass’ ‘What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?’ is still applicable. Rather than jubilation at where this nation is or has come from, I choose today to commit to pushing forward and preventing regression. To make America’s practice live up to the promise, a promise that brought my mother to this country on this date over fifty years ago, and which we still pursue today.”

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams questioned administration officials today about the city’s new ‘blueprint’ for affordable housing, highlighting deficiencies and a lack of much-needed specificity within the framework. At the hearing of the City Council Committee on Housing and Buildings, the Public Advocate pushed for clarity and additional information which the administration has yet to provide his office or the people of New York.

“After reviewing “Housing our Neighbors: A Blueprint on Housing & Homelessness”, our office has concluded that the blueprint puts together in one place all that we already know, but does not include the specifics of what we need to know, and an analysis of why certain affordable housing programs are not delivering what we need, when we need it and not in the numbers that are needed in New York City,” said Public Advocate Williams in testimony. “My office is still awaiting a briefing of the blueprint. I am thankful the Council is holding this hearing and hope it will illuminate many unanswered questions.”

The Public Advocate released a report in December 2021, Reviewing the Mayor’s Housing Plan to Bolster Affordability and Equity, about previous failed efforts by the city to meet the affordable housing needs in either price or volume, and has long called for deeper affordability standards. Read more on that report here.

On the blueprint’s guidelines for NYCHA, which the Public Advocate has repeatedly declared to be the worst landlord in the city, he said, “The report points out that NYCHA’s current work order system is backlogged with over 600,000 work orders. Moreover, there are wait times of over 300 days for work performed by workers in skilled trades such as painters, carpenters, electricians, and plumbers. The report goes on to say that the administration will implement 'Work Order Reform Today' that addresses duplicative or unnecessary work orders, and scheduling repairs around a resident’s availability. My question is– how?”

The hearing comes amid a mounting eviction crisis as rents are rising and the state has failed to enact Good Cause eviction protections. Yesterday, an Albany judge struck down local good cause protections, further highlighting the need for immediate state action.

In noting that the affordable housing and homelessness crises are truly one issue, he commended the blueprint for this recognition while criticizing the failure of the report to acknowledge the ongoing sweeps of homeless encampments, saying, “Unfortunately, notably absent from this plan is any comment on the Administration's current policy of sweeps and harassment of homeless individuals on New York City streets and subways. I have said that this approach does the last thing first. And without a place for these New Yorkers to go is an inhumane policy that continues the conflation of fixing the homelessness crisis with not seeing homeless people in specific areas. The starting point to end homelessness is to ensure every interaction between an unhoused person in this city and a representative of this government is respectful and culturally sensitive.”

An abridged version of the Public Advocate’s testimony was delivered in Council Chambers today. The full testimony as prepared and submitted can be downloaded here.

Today, as the state legislature votes on the Equality Amendment to advance reproductive rights in the state constitution, and in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams testified in a City Council hearing of the Committee on Women and Gender Equity. He called for immediate passage of several pieces of legislation aimed at protecting abortion rights on all levels of government.

“Institutions in our country are failing people everywhere, especially those who will be directly affected by this assault on reproductive rights with the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “As elected officials, we owe it to New Yorkers to turn our words into action, ensuring that our city will safeguard reproductive rights for all, and keep our state and federal governments accountable to this as well.”

The Public Advocate asked the City Council to quickly pass two pieces of legislation essential to protecting practitioners and patients of reproductive healthcare in New York City. The first bill, Int. 0466, which he co-prime sponsors alongside Council Member Tiffany Cabán, would "prohibit city agencies from using city resources to detain individuals who performed or aided with abortions as well as prohibit city agencies from cooperating with out-of-state entities related to abortions performed in New York state.” Next, Int. 0475 would “allow a person to bring a claim of interference with medical care when a lawsuit is commenced against them,” for accessing healthcare that is legal in New York City – so anyone who is sued for terminating a pregnancy is able to bring a claim of interference.

New York City must always remain a safe place for anyone seeking access to abortion, so the Public Advocate also pushed for two resolutions. The first, Res. 0197, “declares New York City a safe city for all those in need of abortion-related care,” sending a strong and resounding message that the city will remain a safe haven for anyone seeking reproductive healthcare. Additionally, Res. 0245 calls on the U.S. Senate to pass, and President Biden to sign, the Women’s Health Protection Act; this bill federally protects the right to abortion care.

This advocacy is part of a larger legislative push by the Public Advocate to enshrine and defend reproductive rights. Yesterday, at a hearing of the Committee on Civil and Human Rights, the Public Advocate emphasized the need to pass legislation from Council Member Shahana Hanif, of which he is the co-prime sponsor, that would ensure that all New Yorkers seeking reproductive healthcare or employed at a reproductive health care facility are aware of their rights and remedies under New York law.

“We have an obligation to secure rights for our communities, an obligation I know we all are committed to uphold,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “At the same time, we have an obligation to inform our communities of their rights. Even before the Supreme Court’s decision, access to reproductive health information has proved a barrier to proper care for New Yorkers. Without proper access to information, our communities cannot exercise the rights they have fought for.”

Read the Public Advocate’s testimony from today’s hearing of the Committee on Women and Gender Equity, and yesterday’s hearing of the Committee on Civil and Human Rights.

Today, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams pushed for passage of his legislation aimed at countering New York’s maternal mortality crisis. In testimony for a joint hearing of the Committee on Health and the Committee on Hospitals in the City Council, the Public Advocate stressed the urgency of action on both a local and federal level to address maternal health inequities and injustices.

In the United States, Black women are three times more likely to die during childbirth than their white counterparts – in New York City, Black women are eight to twelve times more likely to die. This is often rooted in medical personnel overlooking, minimizing, or dismissing the health concerns of Black patients. Action on these issues is decades overdue, and while the current administration has taken some steps to address this inequity, maternal mortality and morbidity remains a problem – especially for Black women and pregnant persons.

The Public Advocate’s first bill, Intro 0086, would establish a maternal health bill of rights, requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to initiate a public education campaign on city standards for respectful care at birth, health care proxy, and patients’ rights to be placed in all facilities that provide obstetric and gynecological care. Information is essential to body autonomy and empowering people to seek the care they deserve, and anyone giving birth in New York City should know the rights and options available to them. This legislation would make that information available when patients need it most.

Intro 0086, “will allow for more exposure of information to reach the public, especially those who lack access to safe services and resources,” the Public Advocate explained. “This is especially important for communities of more color and immigrant communities who only have access to their local public hospital and are disproportionately affected by maternal mortality.”

The Public Advocate also discussed two resolutions critical to combating the maternal morbidity crisis both in New York City and nationally. The first calls on the United States Congress to pass, and President Joe Biden to sign, the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021. This Act would build on existing legislation to attack the maternal mortality crisis with twelve new bills, and its passage is essential for saving lives and protecting both parents and babies across the country.

The second resolution calls on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to increase funding for By My Side, a doula program under Healthy Start Brooklyn. With greater funding, By My Side can provide doulas to all low-income birthing people in New York City – a critical advocate in the delivery room, especially for New Yorkers of more color – and expand their prenatal, obstetric, and postpartum care. By My Side and Healthy Start Brooklyn bring care to communities too often underserved, and lower the economic barriers that have prevented some pregnant people from seeking critical care.

“For far too long, maternal mortality has been ignored and those impacts have been unheard,” the Public Advocate argued in his statement. “It is time to protect them, particularly women and all pregnant people in communities of more color, who have disproportionately experienced maternal healthcare inequities.”

Today’s hearing comes amid a years-long push in the Office of the Public Advocate to combat the maternal mortality crisis in New York City, and only months after the Public Advocate shared his own family’s struggles with maternal health.

This winter, after a long fertility struggle, a difficult pregnancy, and premature delivery, the Public Advocate and his wife welcomed their newborn daughter, Amani Elisadora. They have shared their story publicly in recent months in the hopes that it helps other New Yorkers feel supported, heard, and receive the care they need.

Last year, the Office of Public Advocate released an extensive report on the crisis, entitled Equitable Pregnancy Outcomes for Black and Brown New Yorkers, which analyzes systemic issues and outlines potential policy solutions.

Read and download the Public Advocate’s full statement in support of these bills here.