New York City Council passes abortion access package, including free pill bill

The City Council passed a package of bills on Thursday that would enhance abortion access for locals and out-of-staters alike, requiring city-run health clinics to offer free abortion-inducing medication to patients, as lawmakers work to boost New York’s status as a reproductive safe harbor.

The package, a response to the conservative U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling last month erasing the constitutional right to abortion, came from the first majority-women Council in New York City history.

City lawmakers passed bills that would bar the use of city resources to assist with the enforcement of out-of-state abortion restrictions, require a city public education campaign targeting fraudulent reproductive health facilities and ensure free access to a pair of pregnancy-ending drugs at Health Department clinics.

Each part of the raft of bills passed with support from at least 85% of the chamber.

“This Council is taking action,” Speaker Adrienne Adams, a Queens Democrat, said at a news conference. “The right to safe and legal abortion is a fundamental human right and must be protected for all who seek reproductive health care — especially in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s dangerous decision.”

New York City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, D-Manhattan (left) and New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, D-Queens (right)

The bills require Mayor Adams’ signature to become law. His administration did not immediately provide comment on the package, but has expressed urgency about protecting abortion access after the Supreme Court ruling three weeks ago overturning Roe v. Wade.

The city is preparing for an influx of visitors seeking abortion care; the Supreme Court’s decision set the stage for blanket abortion bans, without exceptions for rape or incest, in some states.

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Abortion up to the 24th week of pregnancy has been legal in New York State since 1970. State lawmakers took a step this month toward enshrining the right to abortion in the state Constitution, a lengthy process that requires a ballot referendum.

The Plan B pill, also known as the 'morning after' pill, is displayed on a pharmacy shelf February 27, 2006 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/)

City lawmakers also approved resolutions on Thursday naming Jan. 22, 2023 as “Roe v. Wade Day” in New York City, and declaring New York a “Safe City” for all Americans in need of abortion care.

Perhaps the most significant piece of the package is the pill bill paving the way for free access to mifepristone and misoprostol, a pair of drugs typically taken together to terminate a pregnancy within the first 10 weeks.

The legislation, sponsored by City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, a Manhattan Democrat, also covers abortion medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration, potentially spanning drugs authorized in the future.

“I want people to know that they can come to New York City and receive services that are comprehensive, that are free,” Rivera told the Daily News. “This is a safe haven for people that need abortion care.”

Anyone who walks into a clinic, regardless of their health insurance status, should be able to receive medication if the bill becomes law, Rivera said.

The bill would have a minimal immediate impact on city expenditures and would be funded through existing Health Department resources, according to a Council fiscal impact report. The vote on the bill was 41 to 7.

City Council proposes free abortion pills at NYC clinics in wake of Roe reversal

Rivera said she hopes other municipalities — particularly cities near states that have sharply curtailed abortion access — will follow New York City’s lead.

In the news conference, Speaker Adams said the Council had “shown national leadership” through its package.

And Councilwoman Tiffany Cabán, a Queens Democrat who sponsored two of the abortion bills, said “packages like this are exactly the reason why most of us wanted to be in these halls of power.”

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