New Jersey’s human trafficking laws, set out in §§ 2C:13-8 and 2C:13-9, criminalize both direct participation in and facilitation of trafficking for labor, services, or sexual exploitation.
Section 2C:34-1 of the New Jersey Criminal Code sets out the state’s laws on prostitution and its related crimes. It is illegal to engage in prostitution, to promote or profit from it, or to compel another person to participate in sexual activity for money or anything of value. When coercion or exploitation is proven, human trafficking serves as an affirmative defense.
Under New Jersey Revised Statutes § 2A:65A-6 it is unlawful for any physician or health care provider to perform a partial-birth abortion, defined as the partial vaginal delivery of a living fetus before deliberately causing fetal death. There is an exception, when the procedure is necessary to save the life of the pregnant person whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, an illness, or an injury.
New Jersey Revised Statutes § 10:7-2 affirms that every individual in the state has a fundamental right to make personal decisions about their reproductive health. This includes the right to use or decline contraception, to continue a pregnancy and give birth, or to terminate a pregnancy. The statute guarantees that these choices belong to the individual, and not to the government, and it protects access to both contraception and abortion services as part of that right.
Under New Jersey Public Law 2017, Chapter 176, discrimination in health insurance coverage and public employee benefit plans on the basis of gender identity, gender expression, or transgender status is prohibited.
Any discrimination based on sex in the hiring, compensation, promotion, and employment conditions of teachers and other personnel in all publicly funded schools, colleges, and universities is prohibited under New Jersey Revised Statutes § 18A:6-6. The statute mandates equal treatment in wage scales and employment practices, ensuring that sex cannot be used as a basis for differential pay or job opportunity within the state’s educational institutions.
New Jersey Revised Statutes § 52:18A-49.1 directs the Department of the Treasury to create and administer a certification process for LGBTQ+ owned businesses in accordance with Executive Order No. 295 (2022).
New Jersey Revised Statutes § 52:4B-51 requires the Attorney General, through the Department of Law and Public Safety, to establish and oversee a statewide Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program. The statute defines a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner as a registered nurse with specialized forensic and medical training to provide trauma-informed care to sexual assault victims and to collect and preserve evidence for criminal investigation and prosecution.
New Jersey Revised Statutes §§ 37:1-1.1 and 37:1-6 define the state’s legal parameters for marriage, reflecting both equality in access and the protection of minors. Section 37:1-1.1 affirms that marriage in New Jersey is a civil contract between two consenting adults, regardless of their gender identity, and it codifies the constitutional recognition of marriage equality established through
Article II, Section 1, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution states:
“The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows.”
