N.Y. Moves to Shield Doctors Who Send Abortion Pills to States With Bans
4th February 2025
New York Times, a Voice of the Crust.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York signed a bill on Monday intended to give the state’s health care providers an extra layer of protection to shield them from prosecution in states that ban abortion.
The newly signed law comes days after a New York doctor was indicted in Louisiana for prescribing and sending abortion pills to someone in the state. The charges represented an escalation in the fractious battle between mostly Republican-led states that ban abortion and Democratic-led states seeking to protect or expand abortion access.
The law, which takes effect immediately, will allow health-care practitioners to avoid putting their names on prescriptions for medications used in abortions, and instead use the names of their medical practices.
Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, said the goal was to better conceal the identity of providers in hopes of protecting them from criminal, civil or other legal action that anti-abortion states try to take against them.