Title 10.

Chapter 7. (New)
Freedom of
Reproductive
Choice
§§1,2
C.10:7-1 and
10:7-2
§3
C.26:2S-39
§4
C.52:14-17.29hh
§5
C.52:14-17.46.6q

(CORRECTED COPY)
P.L. 2021, CHAPTER 375, approved January 13, 2022
Senate, No. 49

1 AN ACT concerning freedom of reproductive choice and

2 supplementing Title 10 of the Revised Statutes, P.L.1997, c.192
3 (C.26:2S-1 et seq.), and Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
4
5 BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State
6 of New Jersey:
7
8 1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
9 a. In cases such as Right to Choose v. Byrne, 91 N.J. 287 (1982)
10 and Planned Parenthood of Cent. N.J. v. Farmer, 165 N.J. 609 (2000),
11 the New Jersey Supreme Court has recognized that the right to
12 reproductive choice is a fundamental right enshrined in the State
13 Constitution, that this right is independent of the United States
14 Constitution, and that Article I, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey
15 Constitution is independent of, and protects reproductive autonomy
16 to an extent that exceeds the protections established under, the United
17 States Constitution.
18 b. The New Jersey Supreme Court has found that the right to
19 reproductive choice includes the right to determine whether and when
20 to bear children. In particular, the citizens of New Jersey may:
21 access contraception, including emergency contraception; may not be
22 denied public benefits based on the choice to have additional
23 children; may choose to terminate a pregnancy; and may choose to
24 carry a pregnancy to term.
25 c. Self-determination in reproductive choice is key to helping
26 establish equality among the genders and to allowing all people of
27 childbearing age to participate equally in the economic and social life
28 of the United States and the State of New Jersey.
29 d. An unplanned pregnancy can disrupt educational and career
30 plans, forcing the pregnant person to drop out of school, abandon
31 pursuit of a college or advanced degree, accept lower-paying
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1 employment or employment with limited opportunities for

2 advancement, or delay entrance into the workforce, which can have
3 the effect of limiting the person’s lifetime earnings and can prevent
4 the person from following a chosen career path.
5 e. The right to choose whether and when to have children allows
6 people to more effectively plan in a way that is compatible with the
7 person’s overall life goals. Although each person retains the right to
8 exercise the freedom of reproductive choice regardless of the health
9 and strength of the person’s interpersonal relationships, where and
10 how the person lives, or the person’s income level and overall
11 resources, the essence of the right to reproductive choice is that
12 people have the ability to make reproductive choices in a manner
13 commensurate with their own personal beliefs, life plan, and moral
14 code.
15 f. Governmental restrictions on reproductive choice, by their
16 very nature, impinge on the constitutional right to reproductive
17 autonomy, particularly when they fail to confer any benefits to
18 patients in the form of improved health or safety. Moreover,
19 restrictions of this nature often have a disparate impact that is
20 predominantly felt by persons who already experience barriers to
21 health care access, including young people, people of color, people
22 with disabilities, people with low income, people living in rural areas,
23 immigrants, and people who are transgender or non-binary.
24 g. The Legislature is committed to ensuring that no barriers to
25 reproductive freedom exist in the State. Individuals have the right to
26 make their own decisions concerning reproduction, including the
27 right to contraception, the right to terminate a pregnancy, and the
28 right to carry a pregnancy to term, without government interference
29 or fear of prosecution.
30 h. It is both reasonable and necessary for the State to enable,
31 facilitate, support, and safeguard the provision of high-quality,
32 comprehensive reproductive and sexual health care, including the full
33 range of evidence-based information, counseling, and health care
34 services, to all individuals in the State, and to enable, facilitate,
35 support, and safeguard the ability of such individuals to access
36 affordable and timely reproductive health care services and to engage
37 in autonomous reproductive decision-making, in consultation with
38 health care professionals of their choosing, without fear of
39 prosecution, discrimination, or unnecessary barriers to care. To
40 achieve those ends, it shall be the policy of this State to:
41 (1) explicitly guarantee, to every individual, the fundamental
42 right to reproductive autonomy, which includes the right to
43 contraception, the right to terminate a pregnancy, and the right to
44 carry a pregnancy to term;
45 (2) enable all qualified health care professionals to provide
46 pregnancy termination services in the State;
47 (3) advance comprehensive insurance coverage for reproductive
48 care, including primary reproductive health care services, services to
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1 terminate a pregnancy, long-acting contraceptives, and long-term

2 supplies of hormonal contraceptives, that enables the citizens of New
3 Jersey to fully exercise their freedom of reproductive choice while
4 recognizing the rights of certain religious employers to request an
5 exemption from such coverage; and
6 (4) ensure that all laws, rules, regulations, ordinances,
7 resolutions, policies, standards, or parts thereof, that are currently in
8 force or enacted in the future, conform to the provisions and the
9 express or implied purposes of this act, and that any law, rule,
10 regulation, ordinance, resolution, policy, standard, or part thereof
11 that conflicts with the provisions of this act or its express or implied
12 purposes is subject to invalidation.
13
14 2. a. Every individual present in the State, including, but not
15 limited to, an individual who is under State control or supervision,
16 shall have the fundamental right to: choose or refuse contraception
17 or sterilization; and choose whether to carry a pregnancy, to give
18 birth, or to terminate a pregnancy. The New Jersey Constitution
19 recognizes the fundamental nature of the right to reproductive choice,
20 including the right to access contraception, to terminate a pregnancy,
21 and to carry a pregnancy to term, shall not be abridged by any law,
22 rule, regulation, ordinance, or order issued by any State, county, or
23 local governmental authority. Any law, rule, regulation, ordinance,
24 or order, in effect on or adopted after the effective date of this act,
25 that is determined to have the effect of limiting the constitutional
26 right to freedom of reproductive choice and that does not conform
27 with the provisions and the express or implied purposes of this act,
28 shall be deemed invalid and shall have no force or effect.
29 b. The provisions of this section shall be enforceable under the
30 “New Jersey Civil Rights Act,” P.L.2004, c.143 (C.10:6-1 et seq.) or
31 in any other manner provided by law.
32
33 3. a. Upon concluding a study and issuing a report to the
34 Governor and the Legislature demonstrating that such a regulation is
35 necessary, the Department of Banking and Insurance may, through
36 regulation adopted pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act”,
37 P.L.1968 c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), provide that health benefit plans
38 delivered, issued, executed, or renewed in this State, provide
39 coverage for abortion. If the department provides for coverage
40 pursuant to this section, then the department shall also require
41 carriers to grant, upon request of a religious employer, an exclusion
42 under the contract for the coverage required if the required coverage
43 conflicts with the religious employer’s bona fide religious beliefs and
44 practices. A religious employer that obtains such an exclusion shall
45 provide written notice thereof to covered persons and prospective
46 covered persons, and the carrier shall provide notice to the
47 Commissioner of Banking and Insurance in such form and manner as
48 may be determined by the commissioner. The provisions of this
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1 paragraph shall not be construed as authorizing a carrier to exclude

2 coverage for care that is necessary to preserve the life or health of a
3 subscriber. An exclusion from an insurance coverage mandate
4 granted to a religious employer pursuant to this section shall not be
5 considered a violation of section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
6 before the Legislature as this bill).
7 b. For the purposes of this section, “religious employer” means
8 an organization that is organized and operates as a nonprofit entity
9 and is referred to in section 6033(a)(3)(A)(i) or (iii) of the Internal
10 Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. s.6033), as amended.
11
12 4. A contract-providing hospital or medical expense benefits
13 purchased by the State Health Benefits Commission may provide
14 coverage for abortion. A contract-providing hospital or medical
15 expense benefits purchased by the commission shall not exclude a
16 provider from its network or otherwise restrict services from the
17 provider solely on the basis that the provider is a religious employer,
18 as defined in section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the
19 Legislature as this bill), that refuses to provide abortion services.
20
21 5. A contract-providing hospital or medical expense benefits
22 purchased by the School Employees’ Health Benefits Commission
23 may provide coverage for abortion. A contract-providing hospital or
24 medical expense benefits purchased by the commission shall not
25 exclude a provider from its network or otherwise restrict services
26 from the provider solely on the basis that the provider is a religious
27 employer, as defined in section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
28 before the Legislature as this bill), that refuses to provide abortion
29 services.
30
31 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
32
33
34 STATEMENT
35
36 This bill establishes certain requirements related to the right to
37 reproductive choice in New Jersey.
38 Specifically, the bill codifies the constitutional right, which has
39 been recognized by the New Jersey Supreme Court, to freedom of
40 reproductive choice, including the right to access contraception, to
41 terminate a pregnancy, and to carry a pregnancy to term. Any law,
42 rule, regulation, ordinance, or order that has the effect of abridging
43 the constitutional right to freedom of reproductive choice, including
44 a law, rule, regulation, ordinance, or order in effect on, or adopted
45 after, the effective date of the bill, will be deemed invalid and will
46 have no force or effect. The bill specifically provides that every
47 individual present in the State, including, but not limited to, an
48 individual who is under State control or supervision, has the
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1 fundamental right to choose or refuse contraception or sterilization;

2 and to choose whether to carry a pregnancy, to give birth, or to
3 terminate a pregnancy.
4 The bill additionally provides that, after concluding a study and
5 issuing a report to the Governor and the Legislature demonstrating
6 the need that such a regulation is necessary, the Department of
7 Banking and Insurance may adopt regulations providing that health
8 benefit plans delivered, issued, executed, or renewed in this State,
9 require coverage for abortion. If the department adopts a regulation
10 establishing this coverage requirement, the department will also be
11 required to mandate that carriers grant, upon request of a religious
12 employer, an exclusion under the contract for the required coverage
13 if the coverage conflicts with the religious employer’s bona fide
14 religious beliefs and practices. A religious employer that obtains
15 such an exclusion will be required to provide written notice thereof
16 to covered persons and prospective covered persons, and the carrier
17 will additionally be required to provide notice to the Commissioner
18 of Banking and Insurance in such form and manner as may be
19 determined by the commissioner. Nothing in this requirement is to
20 be construed as authorizing a carrier to exclude coverage for care that
21 is necessary to preserve the life or health of a subscriber. An
22 insurance exclusion authorized by the department will not constitute
23 a violation of the provisions of the bill invalidating laws determined
24 to have the effect of abridging or limiting the constitutional right to
25 freedom of reproductive choice.
26 The bill provides that a contract providing hospital or medical
27 expense benefits purchased by the State Health Benefits Commission
28 or the School Employees’ Health Benefits Commission may provide
29 coverage for abortion. A contract providing hospital or medical
30 expense benefits purchased by either commission may not exclude a
31 provider from its network or otherwise restrict services from the
32 provider solely on the basis that the provider is a religious employer
33 that refuses to provide abortion services.
34
35
36
37
38 Codifies constitutional right to freedom of reproductive choice.