New York Lawmakers Seek to Safeguard Access to Abortion Pills

ALBANY, N.Y. — The New York state Legislature gave its final approval on Tuesday to a bill that would provide legal protection to doctors who prescribe and send abortion pills to patients in states where abortion has largely been outlawed.

The measure had passed the New York state Senate last month by a vote of 39 to 22, but it wasn’t until Tuesday night that it finally cleared the State Assembly by a vote of 99 to 45.

The measure will now be sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has indicated that she is inclined to sign it.

If she does, New York will become the fifth state — after Colorado, Massachusetts, Vermont and Washington — to adopt a so-called telemedicine shield law related to the prescription of abortion pills.

The measure is expected to significantly expand medication abortion access to patients living in one of the 14 states that have mostly outlawed abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in which the court held the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion.

It would also enable these women to end their pregnancies without having to travel to states where abortion is still legal.

The bill states that New York courts and officials will not cooperate if a state with an abortion ban tries to prosecute, sue or otherwise penalize a New York health care provider who offers abortion via telemedicine to a patient in that state, as long as the provider complies with New York law. 

In the meantime, abortion opponents are continuing to try to force the abortion pill mifepristone off the market by challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug 23 years ago. 

The suit also challenges the FDA’s decision in 2021 allowing patients to receive prescribed pills by mail.

In May, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a review of an earlier ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who found that the FDA failed to follow its own rules when it originally approved the drug.

The Supreme Court has since blocked that ruling from taking effect, allowing the drug to remain on the market while the litigation is ongoing.

However the 5th Circuit ultimately rules, the case will almost certainly end up back at the Supreme Court, with the potential for a decision in the case next term.

More than half of abortions in the United States are now carried out with medication, using two drugs, mifepristone followed by misoprostol. Decades worth of data suggests the process is safe and effective.

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