A 860 New York Assembly · 2025 Regular Session

Establishes the "Maternal Health, Dignity and Consent act"

Summary

Prohibits drug, cannabis or alcohol testing of pregnant or postpartum individuals and newborns unless the individual consents and it is within the scope of medical care, or the testing is necessary for a medical emergency.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 8, 2025 Last action May 28, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

A860 → A860A · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to remove protections against 'screening' (questionnaires) for pregnant individuals and newborns, narrowing the law to only prohibit physical 'testing' (urine or hair samples). Additionally, the consent form requirements were expanded to explicitly warn individuals about potential legal consequences, such as reports to child protective services, and a new emergency exception was added allowing testing without consent in life-threatening situations.

Scope change

The scope of prohibited actions was narrowed from both 'testing and screening' to only 'testing', and new exceptions were created for emergency medical situations.

REQUIREMENT

Removed the prohibition on health care professionals using verbal or written screening tools (questionnaires) to determine drug, cannabis, or alcohol use.

Added mandatory statements to the informed consent form warning that testing positive could lead to legal consequences, including reports to child protective services.

Created a new exception allowing testing without consent if an emergency exists and delaying treatment would risk the patient's or newborn's life or health.

Modified the consent process to require specific written and oral warnings about legal consequences before consent is given.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 28, 2026

Committee

REPORTED REFERRED TO RULES

lower

May 22, 2026

Lower · Passed

PRINT NUMBER 860A

lower

May 22, 2026

Lower · Passed

AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO CODES

lower

May 11, 2026

Committee

REPORTED REFERRED TO CODES

lower

Jan 7, 2026

Committee

REFERRED TO HEALTH

lower

Jan 8, 2025

Committee

REFERRED TO HEALTH

lower

1 primary · 50 co-sponsors