New York is clear about its intention to lead the way in access to abortion

New York City has long been a haven for people seeking abortions, and new city programs and policies aim to keep it that way since the Supreme Court overturned the decision. Rowe vs. Wade and returned the regulation of abortion to the states.

In 1973 before Caviar According to the Guttmacher Institute, abortion was legalized across the country, with New York being the only state to allow abortions at all without residency requirements or medical restrictions until the fetus was viable. The year before—1972—more than 100,000 women had come to New York to have legal abortions.

“New York was inconvenient, but it was the only option in the continental United States,” said Mary Ziegler, Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at UC Davis and a leading historian of abortion in the United States. United States.

Now, following a Supreme Court ruling last summer in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which repealed a historic law, a dozen states ban almost all abortions, and many others severely restrict them. But as access to abortions dwindles, people may have other options closer to home that would be cheaper than a trip to the Big Apple. Supporters say New York City and other new abortion centers are critical to making abortion available nationwide. However, moving out of state can present insurmountable financial and personal barriers for many people.

Last month, Mayor Eric Adams announced that New York City would begin offering free medical abortions at four sexual health clinics, in addition to 11 public hospitals that already provide abortion pills and surgical abortions in the city.

The program will be funded through a $1.2 million sexual health package, according to Rachel Wick, a spokesman for the city’s health department. The city will provide free abortion pills to up to 10,000 patients annually.

The move is the city’s latest attempt to become a destination connecting residents and anyone interested in abortion with medical care, as well as financial and logistical assistance, through a toll-free number.

Last summer, the mayor signed a package of bills expanding access to abortion for New Yorkers and “outsiders seeking reproductive asylum” in the city. The bills also protect those who have abortions and expand coverage and public awareness of abortion services.

“New York continues to make efforts to increase access to abortion in the region, and it has put its money into the cause,” said Sarah Moeller, director of resource development at Brigid Alliance, which provides logistical support, including travel, housing, food and childcare for people who want to have an abortion.

Activists say helping meet these needs is important because they are part of what makes travel a major, and sometimes insurmountable, hurdle.

According to a 2021 survey of 856 people considering abortion, those who lived 50 miles or more from an abortion facility were significantly more likely to be pregnant four weeks after answering the initial request than those who lived less than 5 miles from one. Among the barriers they cited were arranging child care and covering travel expenses. The results were published in JAMA Network Open.

“A lot of the times I work with people they never left their home state or their hometown,” said Renee Bracey Sherman, CEO and founder of We Testify, which provides abortion information and a platform where people can talk about your problems. abortion stories.

Abortion travel poses more than just logistical hurdles, says Cathy Glenn, director of public policy for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an anti-abortion advocacy group.

“What if she gets an abortion, she gets complications and has to pay a big medical bill?” Glenn said, noting why such a trip is a bad idea. Glenn noted that after a medical abortion, the FDA recommends that patients see a doctor after a week or two. If they returned to their home state, does this assignment take place? “There are all these other considerations that don’t count,” she said.

Coastal states like New York and California — the latter also made great efforts to expand abortion services and protect those who have abortions — are often expensive destinations for people in regions like the South, where abortion is heavily banned, advocates say. Illinois and New Mexico, which have relatively few restrictions on abortion but are easily accessible from states with bans or tight restrictions, are becoming increasingly popular destinations for those seeking abortion, said Melissa Fowler, program manager for the National Abortion Federation, which represents providers abortions.

D.C., where there are no limits on how early in pregnancy an abortion can be done, is a destination for residents of West Virginia, where almost all abortions are banned, and other southern states, Bracey Sherman said.

The Choices Reproductive Health Center opened its doors in Memphis, Tennessee in 1974, one year after Caviar a solution to meet the needs left behind by local doctors and hospitals refusing to perform abortions despite the ruling, said Jennifer Pepper, President and CEO of Choices. Over time, in addition to abortion services, the center offered contraceptives, general wellness services, LGBTQ+ health care, and a birthing center staffed by midwives.

“We understand that people make different choices and we want to take care of them,” Pepper said.

When Tennessee Triggered Abortion Criminalization Law After The Supreme Court Overturned It Caviar Last June, Choices was ready with an option for those who could make the trip. The center was nearing completion at a clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, several hundred miles away, where abortion is protected by the state constitution. In October, the clinic, which will eventually offer a full range of reproductive health services, accepted the first patients who had an abortion.

In addition to serving Choices patients from Tennessee, people from Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas and several other states with restrictive laws have come to Carbondale’s clinic, Pepper said.

A medical abortion at the Carbondale Clinic costs $550, while an abortion procedure costs between $700 and $1,000. The center does not currently accept insurance. Travel, accommodation, childcare, and loss of income from work increase patient costs. Although clinic staff refer patients to financial aid organizations with medical and logistical needs, many people are unable to travel.

“The ones we see have the ability to travel and get away from work,” Pepper said. “People with the fewest resources will have the least opportunity to travel.”

State laws allowing or restricting abortion are not the only legal issues that can affect people considering having an abortion.

In general, if people travel to a state where abortion is legal, they can legally have it there.

Similarly, state laws requiring minors to obtain parental consent for an abortion do not apply if someone leaves the state, said Leila Abolfazli, director of the federal reproductive rights office at the National Women’s Law Center.

“We do not support any punishment for adults who travel freely from state to state,” said Glenn of Susan B. Anthony.

Out-of-state travel is protected by the US Constitution, as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted in his concurring opinion on Dobbs solution. “For example, can a state ban a resident of that state from traveling to another state to have an abortion? In my opinion, the answer is no, based on the constitutional right to travel between states.”

The difficulty is that when people return to their home state, where abortion may be banned or restricted, can they be prosecuted for having an abortion?

If someone gets abortion pills in New York, for example, and then travels home to Ohio, where most abortions are illegal, to take one or both doses of the drug, would they be at risk of being sued?

“This could be considered a crime,” said Katherine Bodde, deputy director of policy for the New York Civil Liberties Union.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national news service that produces in-depth journalism on health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three main operating programs of the KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is a charitable, non-profit organization providing health information to the nation.

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