Caring for Crohn's & UC

Hey New Yorkers: Take Action to Ensure Restroom Access!

June 10, 2015 at 4:06 pm Rebecca K. Leave a comment

I’ve written before about the Restroom Access Act (Ally’s Law) and how important it is to get it passed in states across the country in order to ensure that patients with inflammatory bowel disease and other illnesses are able to access employee only restrooms in stores when a public one is not available.

Well New York, it’s your turn to act!

In 2013, the New York State legislature attempted to pass the Restroom Access Act but it was never brought up for a vote. Earlier this year, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-88) and Senator Kemp Hannon (R-Nassau) introduced the bipartisan Crohn’s and Colitis Fairness Act in the New York State Assembly and Senate. If passed, this bill would amend New York State public health law to provide individuals with “Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, or any other medical condition that requires immediate access to a toilet facility” access to employee-only bathrooms when a public one is not available.

Sounds great, right? It would be, but it won’t pass without your help.

On June 17, 2015, the New York State Senate will vote on the Crohn’s & Colitis Fairness Act. In order to gain support and ensure that we get as many votes as possible, we need to join forces with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America to lobby our legislators to support this bill. So if you live anywhere in New York, here’s what you need to do between now and June 17:

• Identify who your New York State Senator is here (if your Senator is Senator Hannon or bill cosponsor Senator Simcha Felder, email them and thank them for their support!)
• Either email them, call their office or visit and ask for their support of S4918, the Crohn’s and Colitis Fairness Act
• Ask your friends and family to do the same
• Don’t live in New York? You can still help by reaching out to New York State Senate Leadership and urging them to support the bill

Taking action takes less than five minutes. To make it even easier, here are two draft emails that you can use to send to your legislator:

Crohn’s and Colitis Fairness Act Letter

CCFA Template Letter

It’s up to you, New York, to make this bill become a law.

Entry filed under: Advocates, General Disease, IBD News. Tags: advocacy, Ally's Law, CCFA, Colitis, crohn's, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America, crohn's disease, ibd, inflammatory bowel disease, restroom access act, uc, ulcerative colitis.