ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York joined other Democratic-led states Tuesday in stockpiling abortion pills in response to a Texas court ruling that could limit access to the commonly used drug. common.
At the governor’s direction, the state Department of Health will begin purchasing 150,000 doses of misoprostol, one of the two drugs commonly used to induce abortion, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced.
“This is not just an attack on abortion, this is an attack on democracy,” the Democratic governor said, adding that she would not allow “an extremist judge to turn back the clock” on reproductive care.
New Yorkers will continue to have access to medical abortion “no matter what,” he said. If the drug is withdrawn from the market, Hochul said the state will provide $20 million to providers to bolster access to other methods of care.
Hochul is the latest Democratic governor to announce the abortion drug stockpile after two federal judges issued conflicting rulings Friday that could affect the availability of mifepristone, a drug that, if used in combination with misoprostol, is considered the regimen most effective drug to end a pregnancy.
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of attorneys general challenged the decision issued by the Texas district court judge ordering a suspension of federal approval of mifepristone by filing an amicus brief with the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Monday. In it, James and others urged the court to stay the ruling, which if allowed, they argued, would “drastically reduce access to safe abortion care,” according to a statement from James’ office.
The US Department of Justice appealed the ruling on Monday.
Massachusetts, California and Washington state are among the other states that have stockpiled the drugs.
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Maysoon Khan is a staff member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on covert issues. Follow Maysoon Khan on Twitter.
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