As reproductive health care providers who perform abortions, we, like many in the US, are outraged by the Supreme Court decision on abortion that will put millions of Americans at risk for years to come.
The reasons are simple: abortion is medical care and everyone should have the right to the necessary medical care to lead a healthy and happy life. This is the main reason we chose to pursue our careers in health care. When our patients’ health is at stake, we have no choice but to fight back.
The right to abortion is protected by New York State law, but there are still too many barriers that make this decision seems almost impossible for low-income New Yorkers. This happens daily in the communities of color and working class communities we serve.
The lack of affordable health care for unplanned pregnancies puts many New Yorkers in a very difficult situation. Recently, a patient had to stop taking contraceptives because she could not afford them. Soon after she became pregnant and had to make a difficult decision to choose abortion because she did not have the resources to add another member to her family as they struggled to care for their children and put food on the table.
An abortion can cost more than $1,000 for someone without health insurance. More than 1 million New Yorkers do not have health insurance, Black, Native American, Latinx and Asian communities are disproportionately affected groups. It is not only abortion but many other routine health care procedures, these costs could be financially prohibited, very costly affecting far more people than we realize: more than half of Americans do not have $1,000 available for an emergency.
New Yorkers without health insurance face barriers not only of cost but how to navigate the restrictive networks in the health system. Health insurance that depends on the employer, or the partner, or under the parents’ insurance are also barriers that put these vulnerable groups at risk, keeping them cornered in abusive situations so that they can receive medical attention. Low-income, uninsured pregnant New Yorkers are often denied abortion care at private hospitals and are forced to seek care at public city hospitals,
If the last few months have taught us anything, it is that we cannot take the right to abortion as a secure right or we will lose it. Now is the time to protect and expand our rights. We call on the Democratic majority in both houses of the state legislature to take urgent action.
This year Albany has the opportunity to pass a series of bills that will strengthen immediate access to abortion for all New Yorkers and anyone who comes to our state for an abortion. As health care providers serving low-income patients who seek abortions daily, we urge the State Assembly and Senate to pass these bills. The Reproductive Freedom and Equity Program is needed immediately to help low-income people and access abortion. We also need them to pass bills that will provide legal protection to health care providers and patients who come from other states where abortion is prohibited.
These bills are urgently needed, but this is just the first step.
Abortion is part of the broad spectrum of quality health care that we all deserve. We see too many uninsured and partially insured patients suffering from health problems that could have been resolved if they had had access to regular, comprehensive health care. Preventive care saves lives, saves money, improves our way of life, and improves our communities, education, environment, and economy.
Our current system benefits from our illnesses, instead of keeping us all healthy and productive. This system increases poverty, injustice, racial and economic inequality. That’s why we also urgently need the legislature to pass the New York Health Law this session to create a single payment system that covers all medical services for everyone, at an affordable cost, and to use freely at no cost when needed.
Abortion should not be a political issue or bargaining chip, nor should any aspect of our health care system.
There are only a few days left in the legislative session. It’s time for Albany to take action to protect New Yorkers with abortion rights and health care rights so they can thrive.
Eugenia Montesinos is a Certified Nurse Midwife in Manhattan and a member of Physicians for to National Health Plan NY Metro chapter.