New York Passes Bill to Shield Abortion Providers Sending Pills Into States With Bans

This blog originally appeared at The New York Times.

The measure is one of several recently enacted by states aiming to expand access to medication abortion for patients who live where it is outlawed.

On Tuesday, the New York State Legislature approved a groundbreaking legislation that grants legal protection to doctors in New York to prescribe and deliver abortion pills to patients residing in states where abortion is prohibited. This measure, coupled with similar laws in several other Democrat-controlled states, has the potential to significantly expand access to medication abortions. It enables more patients in states with restrictive abortion laws to terminate their pregnancies at home, eliminating the need to travel to states where abortion is legal.

The New York bill now awaits the approval of Governor Kathy Hochul, who has expressed her support for the concept of a shield law. The legislation stipulates that New York courts and officials will not cooperate with any attempts by states with abortion bans to prosecute, sue, or penalize healthcare providers in New York who offer telemedicine abortions to patients in those states, as long as the providers adhere to New York law. The bill passed the State Assembly with a vote of 99 to 45 on Tuesday evening, following its approval in the Senate by a vote of 39 to 22 last month.

Since the Supreme Court’s decision last year to end the nationwide right to abortion, various states have enacted telemedicine abortion shield laws, including Massachusetts, Colorado, Vermont, and Washington. However, New York’s legislation is expected to have a particularly notable impact. Multiple providers in New York have expressed their intention to send abortion pills to patients in all states with abortion restrictions, and some providers are speaking publicly about it, which is a step that providers in other states with shield laws have not taken thus far.