New York will pour an extra $1.5 million of public money into free healthcare for prostitutes through 2028, state records show, reigniting a fierce row in which Republicans are invoking Donald Trump-era tough-on-crime politics and accusing Democratic leaders of neglecting first responders.
New York launched a $1 million pilot scheme in 2023 to provide sex workers with primary, behavioural, dental and sexual health services at specialist clinics. The programme, funded through the state Department of Health's AIDS Institute, was due to lapse last year. Instead, according to reporting by the New York Post, Governor Kathy Hochul's administration has quietly extended and expanded it, without seeking fresh sign-off from the state legislature.
