Proposed Res. No. 89-A
Resolution calling on the New York State Assembly to pass A.9175, and the Governor to sign S.2058/A.9175, legislation to require each institution within the State University of New York and the City University of New York to have at least one vending machine making emergency contraception available for purchase
By Council Members Gutiérrez, Dinowitz, Louis and Cabán (in conjunction with the Brooklyn Borough President)
Whereas, According to the Fall 2025 National College Health Assessment by the American College Health Association, 78.5 percent of U.S. college students who reported having vaginal intercourse used at least one method of contraception to prevent pregnancy; and
Whereas, One available method of contraception is emergency contraception, which can prevent up to 95 percent of pregnancies when taken within 5 days after intercourse, and which is intended for such situations as unprotected intercourse, concerns about possible contraceptive failure, incorrect use of contraceptives, and sexual assault; and
Whereas, According to the 2023/2024 Sexual Violence Data Brief, 45.1 percent of women in the United States experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetimes, that number was 46.1 percent for New York State, with 21 percent of women nationally reporting a completed or attempted rape in their lifetimes, 18.2 percent in New York State, and 20.3 percent reporting sexual coercion nationally, 16.1 percent in New York State, which occurs when a person is pressured in a nonphysical way into unwanted sexual penetration; and
Whereas, According to the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based violence Data Brief for June 2025, there were 1,341 complaints that were classified as rape in 2024 in New York City, with the majority of victims being under the age of 44; and
Whereas, The majority of students enrolled in New York’s public higher education system are under the age of 25; as of Fall 2019, more than 74 percent of CUNY students were under 25 years old, and as of Fall 2021, students aged 24 and younger comprised between 69 percent and 98 percent of enrollment at the majority of SUNY colleges; and
Whereas, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 20 women in the United States have experienced a pregnancy from rape, sexual coercion, or both during their lifetimes; and
Whereas, A study published in 2019 in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence found that 8.4 percent of U.S. women experienced reproductive coercion, including partner condom refusal, during their lifetime; and
Whereas, According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), emergency contraception methods do not harm future fertility, do not terminate or harm an existing pregnancy, and work primarily by preventing or delaying ovulation; and
Whereas, According to the WHO and HHS, the side effects of emergency contraception are uncommon and mild, similar to those of oral contraceptive pills, such as nausea and vomiting, slight irregular vaginal bleeding, and fatigue, which resolve without further treatment; and
Whereas, A one-pill regimen of levonorgestrel emergency contraception, under the brand name Plan B One-Step, was approved by FDA for OTC sales for all ages in 2013, with generic versions of this regimen approved for OTC sales in 2014; and
Whereas, The Fall 2025 National College Health Assessment by the American College Health Association found that 16 percent of cis men, 18.4 percent of cis women, and 17.5 percent of trans/gender non-conforming students reported that either they or their partner used emergency contraception at least once within the last 12 months after having vaginal intercourse; and
Whereas, The American Society for Emergency Contraception reports that as of 2023, among surveyed stores and pharmacies nationwide, 18 percent did not stock emergency contraception at all, and 27 percent imposed outdated age restrictions; and
Whereas, According to KFF, the costs of contraceptives are a still a barrier to some women, with one in five uninsured women having to stop using a birth control method because they could not afford it, highlighting the need for easier access to emergency contraceptives
Whereas, A vending machine on a college campus, when placed in an accessible private space in a building with extended hours, can provide a confidential, lower-cost, convenient way for students to access emergency contraception and other sexual health products; and
Whereas, According to EC for Every Campus, student activists have successfully introduced vending machines providing emergency contraception and other sexual and reproductive health products on over 150 campuses in more than 30 states, including in New York State at schools like Columbia University; and
Whereas, S.2058, introduced by State Senator Lea Web in the State Senate, and companion bill A.9175, introduced by State Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas, in the State Assembly, would ensure that every student attending school in the State University of New York and the City University of New York systems has access to affordable emergency contraception by requiring all campuses to have at least one vending machine making such medication available for purchase; and
Whereas, S.2058 has passed the State Senate and was delivered to the State Assembly on January 27, 2026; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Assembly to pass A.9175, and the Governor to sign S.2058/A.9175, legislation to require each institution within the State University of New York and the City University of New York to have at least one vending machine making emergency contraception available for purchase.
AZ/JN
LS #13044
Res. #0089-2024
12/31/2025 9:58 AM