Senate committee releases four‑bill reproductive‑health package to fund clinics, protect data and expand campus access

At a Senate Health and Human Services Committee hearing, senators voted to release a four‑bill reproductive‑health package sponsored by Majority Leader Senator Ruiz, moving each measure out of committee for further legislative consideration.

Senator Ruiz told the committee the bills aim to protect bodily autonomy and strengthen access to reproductive health care. She summarized the package as including S3492, which would create grants and forgivable loans to bolster reproductive‑health clinics and fund training and security; S3493, which would add protections for reproductive‑health data; S3494, which would require state colleges and universities to adopt reproductive‑health service plans to ensure timely access to contraception and emergency care; and S3496, which would create an optional tax return contribution mechanism to fund reproductive‑health services. "This isn't about our own personal opinions... it is about body autonomy," Ruiz said.

Supporters — including the New Jersey Family Planning League, the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, Planned Parenthood Action Fund of…