TRENTON, NJ—The New Jersey Legislature passed a bill yesterday affirming crucial protections for reproductive and transgender healthcare in the state. A coalition of organizations from across the state celebrates the bill and urges Governor Mikie Sherrill to sign it into law immediately.
The groups advocating for the bill include the Transgender Rights Coalition of New Jersey (TRC-NJ), Garden State Equality, Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey, Lawyers for Good Government, WadeIn New Jersey and SOMA Action.
“We want to express our gratitude to everyone who contributed to the passing of these critical protections. To every lawmaker, policy expert, healthcare provider, advocate, ally, and individual who worked on this legislation over the years: thank you,” said Lauren Albrecht, Garden State Equality’s Senior Director of Advocacy & Organizing.
“By passing this bill, the Legislature has sent the message that bodily autonomy and access to medically necessary, best-practice healthcare are New Jersey values,” Albrecht continued. “As other states and the federal government attack reproductive and trans healthcare, we have made it clear that the Garden State will protect both the lifesaving care itself and the people who provide it. Our priorities now will be to ensure Governor Sherrill swiftly signs this legislation and, afterwards, to educate healthcare providers on these new and bolstered protections.”
“We are thrilled to celebrate the legislature passing S2260/A2218, affirming that transgender individuals seeking healthcare in New Jersey and their families can do so without fear of interference or harm,” said Louise Walpin, co-founder of the Transgender Rights Coalition of New Jersey. “We eagerly await the governor’s signature so that we can all have the confidence that medical decisions are made between individuals and their providers and private information remains confidential, just like everyone else. This bill is an important milestone in the fight for equality catalyzed by activists like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera at Stonewall 57 years ago this week, whose courage and joy continue to motivate and inspire everyone at TRC-NJ.”
“This is a momentous day for New Jersey. At PPAFNJ, we are committed to ensuring the safety and dignity of all people who receive or provide reproductive health care, including gender-affirming care. This bill makes that vision a reality across the state of New Jersey. As the federal government turns its back on patients, providers, and clinic safety, these protections send a powerful message that New Jersey will continue to defend reproductive freedom for all. PPAFNJ thanks the sponsors of this bill for their commitment and determination in getting this bill over the finish line,” said Kaitlyn Wojtowicz, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey.
The groups acknowledged the leadership of Senate President Nicholas Scutari, Senate Majority Leader M. Theresa Ruiz, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, the Senate and Assembly Majority Offices, as well as the 19 Senate and 43 Assembly sponsors and cosponsors of the bill who worked tirelessly to ensure its passage and listened to the voices of constituents across the state advocating for these protections.
“Yesterday marked the end of a two-year fight led by parents, advocates, and members of the LGBTQ+ community who refused to give up on S-2260, often in the face of significant fear and uncertainty,” said Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz, one of the bill’s primary Senate sponsors. “At the heart of this bill has always been the recognition that every person’s humanity is unique, and no one should stand in the way of an individual’s freedom to make decisions about their own body, health, and future. As a mother, a policymaker, and a staunch ally, I look forward to seeing this critical measure signed into law so that patients can access the care they need without fear or intimidation, providers can continue doing their jobs without the threat of prosecution, and New Jersey can remain a beacon of inclusivity, compassion, and individual liberty for all.”
“The shield act is essential to ensuring that patients can access and providers can deliver reproductive healthcare in New Jersey without fear, intimidation, or interference,” said Assemblywoman Shanique Speight, one of the bill’s primary Assembly sponsors. “It responds to the real threats that undermine access to legally protected healthcare. With this measure, New Jersey is reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding the health, rights, and freedoms of its residents, as well as those who come to our state seeking lawful reproductive healthcare. As a state that values democracy and respects individual liberty, we are standing firm in our commitment to protecting personal choice and ensuring that legally authorized health care remains safe, accessible, and protected.”
“As other states and the federal government escalate efforts to criminalize and regulate legal healthcare beyond their borders, New Jersey has taken a critical step to protect patients, providers, and its own authority to govern the healthcare of its residents,” said Khadijah M. Silver, JD/MPH, civil rights attorney and Director of Gender Justice & Health Equity at Lawyers for Good Government. “New Jersey is drawing a clear line, requiring healthcare providers in this state answer only to the laws that already govern them. As attacks on bodily autonomy increasingly ignore state lines, shield laws are becoming essential legal infrastructure for protecting patients and providers alike. The question is no longer whether states will need shield laws, but how quickly they can build them in the face of eroding federal protections and interstate conflict over healthcare. We urge Governor Sherrill to sign this bill into law without delay.”
The legislation crucially confirms that New Jersey health providers, patients, and those who support them are subject solely to New Jersey and federal law and that the state will not honor abusive out-of-state subpoenas, judgments, and criminal processes targeting lawful healthcare. It reaffirms the core principle of patient-provider confidentiality. It does not change any existing state law regarding how care is provided in New Jersey.
The new law is essential, as other U.S. states have passed laws prohibiting or criminalizing the types of healthcare this bill protects and are pursuing indictments against physicians and subpoenas of confidential medical and personal information, including of children. The U.S. Department of Justice has also issued subpoenas seeking private information.
New Jersey joins 15 states and Washington, DC in passing such a “shield” law. Three states have executive orders offering the same protections. These measures have been enacted across the country to protect vital, legal healthcare services facing politically- and ideologically-motivated attacks, ungrounded in science or lived experience.