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A2221
ASSEMBLY, No. 2221
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblywoman� ROSAURA "ROSY" BAGOLIE
District 27 (Essex and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Drulis, Park and Haider
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires four-year public institution of higher
education to develop and implement reproductive health services plan; requires
county college to develop referral network for reproductive health care
services.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning student reproductive health at public
institutions of higher education and supplementing chapter 61D of Title 18A of
the New Jersey Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� The Legislature finds
and declares:
���� a.� Student access to
high-quality reproductive health care services is vital to ensuring student
health.
���� b.� For students on campuses
that do not have access to reproductive health care, it is imperative that
these students are directed to trusted health care providers in the local
community.
���� c.� Following the Supreme
Court�s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women�s Health Organization, ensuring
access to emergency contraceptives and referrals to community providers is
imperative.
���� d.� Thirty-nine institutions
of higher education across the country have installed vending machines for
emergency contraceptives on the campus of the institution.
���� e.� Students at institutions
of higher education face unique barriers to accessing emergency contraceptives.
A study conducted by medical students in Philadelphia found that one-third of
the area�s pharmacies did not stock emergency contraceptives. Similarly, some
student health centers do not stock emergency contraceptives at all.
Additionally, traveling off-campus to obtain emergency contraceptives can be
difficult for students without cars on campus.
���� f.� Students at four-year
public institutions of higher education in the State should have access to
reproductive health care services.
���� 2.��� As used in this act:
���� �Abortion� means any medical
treatment intended to induce the termination of pregnancy except for the
purpose of producing a live birth. Abortion care includes, but is not limited
to, medication abortion and early aspiration abortion.
���� �Aspiration abortion� means a
procedure that terminates a pregnancy utilizing manual or electric suction to
empty the uterus.
���� "Emergency
contraception" means one or more prescription drugs to prevent pregnancy,
used separately or in combination, administered to or self-administered by a
patient within a medically recommended time after sexual intercourse, dispensed
for that purpose in accordance with professional standards of practice and
determined to be safe by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
���� �Health care facility� means a
health care facility as defined in section 2 of P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-2).
���� �Health
care professional� means a person who is licensed, certified, or otherwise
authorized to provide health care services pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised
Statutes.
���� �Medication abortion� means
the use, prescription, order, dispensing, administration, or any combination
thereof as applicable, of a medication or a combination of medications to
induce termination of pregnancy.
���� �Pregnancy� means the period
of the human reproductive process beginning with the implantation of a
fertilized egg.
���� �Reproductive health care
services� means and includes medical, surgical, counseling, or referral
services relating to the human reproductive system, including, but not limited
to, services relating to pregnancy, contraception, or the termination of a pregnancy.
���� �Student health center� means
a clinic providing primary health care services to students that is located on
the campus of a four-year public institution of higher education.
���� 3.��� a.� A four-year public
institution of higher education, in consultation with student representatives
selected by the president of the institution, shall develop and implement a
reproductive health services plan
that addresses student access to reproductive health care services.
���� b.� The plan shall, in
accordance with all applicable State and federal laws, include:
���� (1) making available on campus
services provided by health care professionals, or of referrals to off-campus
services provided by health care professionals or health care facilities, for:
���� (a) obtaining federal Food and
Drug Administration-approved contraception methods, including emergency
contraception and pharmacist authorized, self-administered hormonal contraceptives
pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2023, c.2 (C.45:14-67.9);
���� (b)� preventing, testing for,
and treating sexually transmitted infections, including the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV);
���� (c ) prenatal care; and
���� (d) abortion;
���� (2) methods to provide
students with 24-hour access to purchase over-the-counter contraception through
the student health center, as applicable, on-campus retail establishments, or
vending machines;
���� (3) providing evidence-based
reproductive health education services through the student health center, as
applicable, peer educators, or other health education programs; and
���� (4) developing a referral
network of verified health care professionals and pharmacies that provide off-campus
reproductive health care services in the county in which the four-year
institution of higher education is located.
���� c.� Each four-year institution
of higher education shall annually update the reproductive health services
plan.
���� 4.��� A county college, in
consultation with student representatives selected by the president of the
institution, shall develop a referral network of verified health care
professionals, health care facilities, and pharmacies that provide off-campus
reproductive health care services in the county in which the county college is
located.
���� 5.��� The Secretary of Higher
Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health and the Commissioner
of Human Services, shall develop guidelines to assist:
���� a.� four-year public
institutions of higher education in developing and implementing a reproductive
health services plan; and
���� b.� county colleges in
developing the referral network in accordance with section 3 of this act.
���� 6.��� Nothing in this act
shall be construed to require a public institution of higher education to be a
direct provider of reproductive health care services, including abortion.
���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of
enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires four-year
public institutions of higher education to develop and implement a reproductive
health services plan.
���� ������ Pursuant to the bill,
the plan is required to include: making available on-campus services provided
by health care professionals, or referrals to off-campus services provided by
health care professionals or health care facilities, for: obtaining
contraception, including non-prescription and prescription emergency
contraception and pharmacist authorized, self-administered hormonal
contraceptives; services for preventing, testing for, and treating sexually
transmitted infections, including HIV; prenatal care; and abortion. The plan is
also required to include: methods to provide students with 24-hour access to
over-the-counter contraception through the student health center, on-campus
retail establishments, or vending machines; the provision of evidence-based
reproductive health education services provided by the student health center,
peer educators, or other health education programs; and the development of a
referral network of verified health care professionals, health care facilities,
and pharmacies that provide off-campus health care services located within the
county that the four-year institution of higher education is located.
���� The bill also requires county
colleges to develop a referral network of verified health care professionals,
health care facilities, and pharmacies that provide off-campus reproductive
health care services in the county in which the county college is located in.
���� Additionally, the bill
requires the Secretary of Higher Education, in consultation with the
Commissioner of Health and the Commissioner of Human Services, to develop
guidelines to assist public institutions of higher education in developing and
implementing a reproductive health services plan and county colleges in
developing the referral network.
���� Finally, the bill stipulates
that the provisions of the bill are not to be construed to require a public
institution of higher education to be a direct provider of reproductive health
care services, including abortion.