Access to the most commonly used method of abortion in the U.S. plunged into uncertainty Friday following conflicting court rulings over the legality of the abortion medication mifepristone that has been widely available for more than 20 years.
For now, the drug the Food and Drug Administration approved in 2000 appeared to remain at least immediately available in the wake of two separate rulings that were issued in quick succession by federal judges in Texas and Washington.
Governor Kathy Hochul talked about the issue Saturday on CNN and vowed to be proactive on the issue of women’s rights.
“We’re trying to figure out all the different ways we can get ahead of this,” Hochul said. “But it is frustrating as a woman, the first governor of a state that had legalized abortion three years before Roe v. Wade. So, this is part of who we are as New Yorkers. These are rights we cherish, have always taken for granted. And this is an insult to all women, and it has to stop.
Hochul said she would push legislation that would require insurance companies to cover misoprostol, which can be used alone but is more effective when taken with mifepristone.
Anti-abortion advocates over the weekend said the ruling by a Texas Judge invalidated the FDA's approval of an abortion drug would protect the health and safety of women and girls, while abortion rights groups made it clear that the Texas ruling had not cut off women’s access to the medication, at least for now.
This story includes reporting by NPR, the Associated Press and the NY Times.
