NYC to provide free abortion drugs at clinics in quest to become ‘abortion haven’
Abigail Adcox
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New York City health clinics will soon be able to offer abortion medication to patients for free as the city positions itself as a safe haven for abortion access following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene indicated that it has entered into a “sole source” contract with pharmaceutical wholesaler R&S Northeast to buy 200-milligram mifepristone tablets, which are used with misoprostol to induce an abortion, in order “to mitigate the threat to public health posed by the recent supreme court decision,” according to a legal notice.
The deal comes months after Mayor Eric Adams signed legislation last August that ensures city-run health facilities make abortion drugs available free of cost. The law is set to take effect later this year.
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“The department shall make medication for medication abortion available to a patient who seeks to terminate a pregnancy when the use of such medication is indicated and in accordance with the medically reasonable and good faith professional judgment of such patient’s medical provider,” the local law reads.
The Health Department has not disclosed how much government funding was spent on the contract nor how many abortion pills were purchased, though a fiscal impact report for City Council last year indicated the practice would mainly be funded through existing resources earmarked for the Health Department.
“This is abortion tourism. New York has gone way too extreme on abortion,” Gerard Kassar, chairman of the New York Conservative Party, told the New York Post. “We believe life begins at conception and government funds should not be used for abortion.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed a plan that would also require all public colleges in the State University of New York and City University of New York systems to offer medication abortions or establish a relationship with a healthcare provider that provides abortions.
“As other states wage war on abortion access, my message to New Yorkers is clear: Not here, not now, not ever,” Hochul said in a statement.
New York City has implemented a slew of other measures to increase access to abortion as officials declare it a “safe haven for anyone seeking to access a safe, legal abortion.” It comes as a growing number of states adopt restrictive abortion laws. Last November, Adams announced a phone line to connect patients to abortions, financial resources to obtain abortions, and more.
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A recent regulatory change by the Food and Drug Administration also aims to expand access to abortion medication to women who have a prescription nationwide, allowing retail pharmacies that become certified to dispense them. In 2020, medication abortions accounted for over half of all abortions in the United States, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene did not respond for a request for comment.