NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday announced a sweeping plan to expand abortion access in New York City, bolster sex education and close the race and sex gap in healthcare access and outcomes.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will open seven new abortion medication clinics across the city with both walk-in and scheduled appointments.
The Morrisania Sexual Health Clinic in the Bronx will start offering abortion pills Wednesday, and the other clinics will start offering medication abortions over the course of 2023 and 2024.
The city specifically named Crown Heights in Brooklyn, Central Harlem in Manhattan and Jamaica Queens as neighborhoods that can expect increased access.
These Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Clinics will expand upon abortion services already offered at 11 New York City Health and Hospitals buildings and private or non-profit outlets.
The new clinics will be open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to DOHMH Family and Child Health Deputy Commissioner Dr. Leslie Hayes.
As with existing providers, abortion services will be available to anyone, including people from out of state who may not be able to access abortions locally.
The mayor's plan to expand abortion access comes as a bill signed into law in August providing city funding for abortion expenses like travel and child care was enacted on Tuesday.
“Just 100 days since the overturning of Roe, 66 clinics have stopped providing abortions, including in states where abortion is still legal, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The threat to abortion access is not abstract or far away," said City Council Member Carlina Rivera. "By expanding access to medication abortions at all city-run sexual health clinics and using municipal funds to pay for abortion care, New York City is demonstrating how local governments across the United States can and must take bold action to defend reproductive freedom for everyone.”
“Just 100 days since the overturning of Roe, 66 clinics have stopped providing abortions, including in states where abortion is still legal, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The threat to abortion access is not abstract or far away. That’s why enacting my legislation will be so critical during inevitable increases in demand for medication abortion. By expanding access to medication abortions at all city-run sexual health clinics and using municipal funds to pay for abortion care, New York City is demonstrating how local governments across the United States can and must take bold action to defend reproductive freedom for everyone.”
The city will also launch a sex education task force for all city schools organized by the New York City Commission on Gender Equity, the Department of Education and the Mayor’s Office of Equity.
Adams said the task force will organize awareness campaigns and connect students with sexual health resources outside of school in order to “create a culture of sexual wellness and inclusivity.” The group will be required to submit annual reports on its activities.
Adult education will also play a key role in Adams’ plan.
The city will embark on a 20-week education campaign starting this summer focusing on supporting pregnant people with hypertension and diabetes in neighborhoods in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan chosen due to disparities in health outcomes like higher rates of death during childbirth.
The average maternal mortality rate among Black people is more than nine times that of white people in New York City, according to the mayor’s office.
A DOHMH study found the maternal mortality rate disparity correlated with rates of hypertension, which are highest among Black women in New York City at 41.6% compared to 20.6% for white women.
Existing health conditions brought about by differences in access, socioeconomic factors and the biases of healthcare providers could be one factor contributing to the high maternal mortality rates among Black New Yorkers, but the scale of the gap suggests a variety of failures.
“Medicine and public health mirror our society where sexism and racism are normalized and it hurts the health of our city and world,” said DOHMH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michelle Morse. “We cannot simply confront the faults of the past to correct these issues. We must forge ahead with reparative policies and actions. Today’s announcement is one small but important step in that journey.”
The city committed to tracking health problems in order to better understand the causes of the disturbing disparities in health outcomes.
The team will track cancer, mental health conditions, heart disease and life expectancy between race and age groups.
Adams pledged to “leverage findings to shape the work that city agencies carry out regarding women’s health,” though he did not elaborate on what further changes he’s willing to make in order to build a more equitable health care system.
Health care remains prohibitively expensive for many New Yorkers. More than half of New Yorkers experienced healthcare affordability burdens between Dec. 20, 2018 and Jan. 2, 2019, according to a study by the Altarum Institute — a healthcare research company.
That study was carried out before the pandemic hit, putting an economic strain on New Yorkers and destabilizing America’s health care infrastructure.
The mayor’s plan includes education programs, but no economic relief for those who are in-the-know but unable to access health care due to their financial situations.
“For too long health and health care has been centered around men, but that changes today,” said Adams in a statement. “We have been standing on the sidelines of women’s health for too long, and I have personally seen firsthand how the health system is letting our women down. It is long overdue that we break taboos and make New York City a model for the future of women’s health care. We are going to build a city that is here for all women and girls.”
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