New York City is looking to make sure residents and out-of-towners alike know they are entitled to abortion and other reproductive healthcare, a few weeks before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case that could curtail access to abortion pills.
Mayor Eric Adams’ administration on Monday will roll out a new “Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Bill of Rights,” to be distributed to health care providers and advocacy groups for posting publicly and sharing with patients. The document seeks to clarify New York’s existing policies and abortion protections.
New York City has been actively encouraging residents of states with restrictive abortion laws to travel to the city for care since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022. New Yorkers still make up the overwhelming majority of patients getting abortions locally.
“As much of the nation continues their attacks on abortion care, we won’t ever allow this right to be stripped away here in New York City,” Adams said in a statement. “We are issuing a Reproductive Health Bill of Rights today to do everything in our power to ensure abortion and reproductive health care remain available to residents and visitors alike.”
The new enumeration specifies that patients do not need parental consent to get an abortion and that they should be able to access reproductive care without facing threats or physical obstructions — a possible allusion to groups that have sought to prevent people from getting abortions at local clinics.
The notice also informs patients that in New York, unlike other states, most insurance plans, including Medicaid, cover abortion. And it says patients may otherwise qualify for financial assistance.
Some 4,290 people have contacted the city’s Abortion Access Hub to find abortion services via its phone and chat lines since it launched in November 2022, according city data released with the bill of rights.
About 600 of those callers, or roughly 13%, hailed from other states. More than a third were from Texas, where nearly all abortions are banned.
The next-most represented states were Georgia, where abortion is banned six weeks after conception, and Florida, where abortion is only allowed up to 15 weeks. New York City has targeted some states with advertisements of its abortion services, including billboards and digital ads.
New York state allows abortion up until the point of fetal viability — typically around 24 to 26 weeks — or later if the patient’s health or the pregnancy is at risk.
But overall, only about 5% of abortion patients statewide were from outside of New York in 2023, a figure that held steady from 2020, according to the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute, which researches sexual and reproductive health and policy.
The case the Supreme Court is hearing in March could reduce access to mifepristone, one of the two pills often used in the regimen for a medication abortion. The other pill, misoprostol, would not be impacted but is considered somewhat less effective when used on its own.
Even as that case made its way through the courts, the city started offering abortion pills via telehealth and made them available for free at some sexual health clinics. According to officials, 627 people have accessed the service since the beginning of January.
New York City led a coalition of six cities that filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court case in January, urging the court to safeguard medication abortion access.
Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the city’s health commissioner, said he is “very concerned” about the potential for the Supreme Court to restrict access to abortion medication and, in the process, further confuse people about their rights.
The current patchwork of abortion laws across the country is part of why a bill of rights is needed, he said.
“It’s about making it simple, making it clear that these are the services you’re entitled to, this is what should be not only available to you but also covered by your insurance plans, and if you’re not receiving care in these ways we will support you as a city,” Vasan said.
In the past the city has issued a similar notice of health rights for LGBTQ people.
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