(ALBANY NY Jan. 20, 2012) This Sunday, January 22, the nation recognizes the 39th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. For New York, however, our commemoration is much more personal. In 1970, three years prior to the Roe decision, the Empire State revolutionized women’s health care when our wise lawmakers passed the first state law in the nation to ensure access to the full range of reproductive health care services, including abortion care. New York’s decision led the way and, by 1973, all of nation’s women were no longer banished to back allies for any of their health care. More than ensuring access to care, Roe made crucial differences in the lives of American women, promoting self-determination and the opportunity for women to thrive.

What was innovative then, however, is outdated now. Since the early 1990s, state legislatures across the country have passed legislation ensuring that state laws are in accordance with the court decision.

New York must join the ranks of these 10 other states by passing the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) in 2012. A measure supported by seven out of 10 New Yorkers, RHA guarantees a woman’s ability to make personal, private decisions about her reproductive health, including the right to choose or refuse contraception and abortion.

New Yorkers hold as a core value a woman’s need to make her own personal, private health care decisions. Almost 40 years after this ground-breaking decision, we commemorate Roe v. Wade knowing women make the best decisions for themselves and their families. Our state lawmakers must honor New Yorkers’ values and our state’s proud history as a leader in women’s health care by passing the Reproductive Health Act this year.

Watch FPA’s Tracey Brooks on State of Politics discussing the Roe anniversary!