Three of New York State’s leaders in the democratic party have recently taken actions to protect safe access to medication abortion. NY Attorney General Letitia James, State Senator Shelley Mayer and Assemblymember Amy Paulin have all introduced legislation, or are fighting in the courts, to preserve the availability of mifepristone.
Attorney General James and a coalition of 22 attorneys general have asked a Federal court in Texas to reject a challenge brought by anti-abortion groups seeking to revoke the FDA’s approval of the medication abortion drug, mifepristone. The brief warns that withdrawing federal approval for mifepristone would drastically reduce access to safe abortion care and miscarriage management for millions of people across the country, including in New York. A ban on mifepristone would affect states where abortion is legal, like New York.
“Blocking access to this safe and effective medication is a dangerous attack on reproductive freedom and public health,” said Attorney General James. “Decades of medical and clinical research have proven that medication abortion is safe. Despite these facts and its widespread use, we know this is not a debate about science. We are taking action to protect the reproductive freedoms of people in every corner of the country, especially in vulnerable communities.
In 2000, the FDA approved mifepristone as a single-dose oral medication used for early-term abortions. Since its approval, mifepristone has been safely used by approximately five million persons to terminate a pregnancy and is used in more than half of all abortions today. Decades of clinical research and studies have confirmed mifepristone’s safety and efficacy.
The court could order the FDA to withdraw its approval for mifepristone, which would remove the medication would be removed from the market nationwide. The availability of the abortion pill has been particularly critical in providing access to abortion in low-income, underserved, and rural communities. Without access to mifepristone, demand for procedural abortions would significantly increase, leading to overburdened clinics.
“Using mifepristone for medication abortion is extremely safe and effective and has been used by more than five million people since the FDA approved it more than 20 years ago. We are extremely grateful for the leadership of New York Attorney General Letitia James and her coalition partners in working to address the nationwide threat of this case, and the potential impact it could have on the ability of people across the country to access abortion care. Attorney General James continues to show her strong commitment to combating politically motivated attacks designed to ban abortion, birth control, and other sexual and reproductive health care.” said Georgana Hanson, Interim President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts.
Last month, State Senator Shelley Mayer and Assemblymember Karines Reyes, RN, announced that their new legislation (S.1066A/Assembly number forthcoming) to provide explicit protections for doctors and medical providers, and facilitators serving patients seeking abortion and reproductive health services via telehealth has passed the Senate Committee on Health.
This legislation builds upon the package of laws the Legislature passed which protect abortion and reproductive services in New York State, signed in June 2022, by explicitly addressing health services provided by licensed New York providers and physicians via telehealth. In doing so, this legislation provides the strongest protections possible by ensuring that New York will not participate in out-of-state interference, paving the way for greater access to reproductive health for patients regardless of the state in which they live. This bill specifically acknowledges that medication abortion overseen by a provider licensed in New York via telehealth will be protected under NY law, regardless of the patient’s home state.
“Millions of women across the country have been devastated by the decision to overturn Roe v Wade. Clinics have closed, legal access to abortion has been severely restricted, and people seeking abortion have had to make difficult decisions to access care. This legislation honors our commitment to work with our colleagues to protect the right to abortion for New Yorkers and all those from other states who seek licensed medical providers here. I am proud to sponsor this bill, which will strengthen New York’s role as a nation-wide leader in reproductive rights, creating new avenues for those who live in states with severe abortion restrictions. Thank you to Assemblymember Reyes for carrying this bill in the Assembly, and to the providers, advocates and legal experts who were instrumental in crafting this legislation,” said Senator Mayer.
“The passage of NYS Senator Mayer’s bill S1066 is key to achieving full, unimpeded access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare for all women. This bill will provide critical protection for abortion providers providing healthcare services legal in NYS. Since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, millions of women of reproductive age have been left without access to abortion care, the most significant barriers being experienced by low income, Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and uninsured women,” said Catherine Lederer-Plaskett, President, WCLA – Choice Matters. “Protecting telemedicine will make medication abortion available to many more of these women.”
New York codified the protections of Roe v. Wade in New York in 2019, by passing the Reproductive Health Act, a bill long championed by Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, whose leadership has been instrumental in protecting abortion access in New York State. Under that law, healthcare practitioners in New York may provide abortion within 24 weeks and after that point if the patient’s health or life is at risk, or if the fetus is non-viable.
Assemblymember Amy Paulin has introduced legislation to expand abortion access by allowing pharmacists to dispense abortion medication with the use of non-patient specific prescriptions.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently made a welcome regulatory change allowing the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol to be offered in retail pharmacies. Mifepristone and misoprostol are drugs which can be safely self-administered by a patient at home over a 2-day period in order to medically induce an abortion. Mifepristone and misoprostol can be taken up to 12 weeks into a pregnancy, greatly expanding the abortion window for women.
“As states around the nation are tragically banning and limiting access to abortions, New York needs to continue to expand abortion options and ease of access,” said New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin.
While current State law allows abortion medication to be prescribed by a licensed physician, certified nurse practitioner or properly licensed midwife, Paulin’s legislation would expand access and reduce costs for women by allowing these healthcare professionals to prescribe a non-patient specific regimen of abortion medication to be dispensed by a local pharmacist, eliminating the need for an additional trip to the doctor’s office. “Allowing pharmacists to dispense this medication will lower costs and help address access disparities for many New Yorkers, especially marginalized populations, who are more likely to live closer to a pharmacy than a physician’s office,” said Paulin.
The FDA has found that medication abortion is safe and effective, with a 0.4 percent risk of major complications and an associated mortality rate of less than 0.001 percent. The medication comes with no risk of overdose or addiction.
“By expanding an individual’s access to this medication, and amending insurance law to cover its cost,” said Paulin, “we are helping women receive the care they need when they need it most.”
