Originally published with Olivia Jaworski, Shannon Lacy and Tary Santelises in syracuse.com on April 8, 2026.
New York’s state budget is overdue — and up for debate is the funding that New York allocates to support abortion access.
New York has long been a safe haven for reproductive rights and abortion access: By legalizing abortion a few years before Roe v. Wade, we provided care to women from across the country. Since the Dobbs decision overturned the federal right to an abortion in 2022, New York continued to play this role, passing the Reproductive Health Act in 2019 to protect abortion access in the state in anticipation of federal bans, and increasing funding for organizations like the New York Abortion Access Fund, which provides financial assistance to cover costs of accessing an abortion.