With the Supreme Court debating the future of abortion medication, New York Congressman Paul Tonko gathered local medical professionals and advocates for protecting reproductive health care at a roundtable discussion Tuesday.
The Democrat from the 20th District met with five advocates at his Albany office to discuss the ongoing attacks on reproductive freedom across the nation.
It comes as the Supreme Court heard arguments in its first abortion case since conservative justices overturned the constitutional right to an abortion two years ago. In the current case, the mail delivery of mifepristone could be halted. A decision is expected in June.
Tonko supports abortion as healthcare, saying preserving access to abortion medications gives people a safe and effective treatment to terminate a pregnancy for a variety of reasons.
“Bans on abortion hurt real people, especially those in marginalized communities,” Tonko said.
Corinne McLeod is the Upstate Medical Director for Planned Parenthood of Greater New York and an OBGYN. McLeod says state bans in place around the country are proving to be disastrous, exacerbating a shortage of medical providers.
“I'm from Texas, and I very, very consciously chose not to train in Texas and not to return to Texas because I can't do my job, I would go to jail. Even though my family’s there,” McLeod said. “And I care very deeply about those communities. But I can't imagine going back to a place where I could be prosecuted for providing the best and most comprehensive medical care that there is.”
Abortion doula Tammy Stewart says the medication allows pregnant people to make a choice that fits their current situation. The Planned Parenthood volunteer says reasons to terminate a pregnancy are multipronged.
“We need to be talking about the living wage, the childcare gap, we need to be telling our people that ‘yes, we should be building our villages, but the village is no longer free,’” Stewart said.
Recently, France became the only country in the world to amend its constitution to preserve a woman’s choice to receive an abortion. Chelly Hegan, the President and CEO of Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood, says America should follow suit. First, New Yorkers will consider a constitutional amendment on the fall ballot.
“We hope to pass the Equal Rights Amendment to protect abortion access in New York, in perpetuity. And it seems outrageous to say but there should be a constitutional amendment allowing for access to abortion or somehow limiting the role government plays in medication or in healthcare.”
For their part, abortion opponents have cheered the Dobbs decision and, with states setting their own rules, envisioned a future Congressional vote on a nationwide ban.
Lori Keogh is an abortion opponent with New York State Right to Life. She says if the Supreme Court rules to ban the mailing of mifepristone, it’s not limiting access, it’s protecting the health and safety of women.
“We're not checking her. So, we’re not checking her in person to make sure that this drug is safe at this particular point in her pregnancy so that we can confirm the time of her pregnancy,” Keogh said. “We’re not seeing her and going through and counseling her. And then not having anyone in person with her.”
Tonko says this divided Congress has been a difficult one to get progressive policies through.
Earlier this week, Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said she is continuing her commitment to provide access to mifepristone, which is made by New York-based Danco Laboratories.
“It's one thing to provide abortion services, but if they outlaw the distribution of Mifepristone as a result of the Supreme Court decision, which we'll hear about in June, if they go that far, then what options do I have? I have 150,000 doses stockpiled, but it should not come to this,” Hochul said.
