New York City could be the first to force taxpayers to pay for out-of-state women to come have abortions in their city.
New York Daily News reports city leaders are working on a budget that includes $250,000 dedicated exclusively to helping women pay for abortions. They estimate the money could be used to help pay for between 500 to 600 unborn babies’ abortion deaths next year.
New York already forces taxpayers to fund abortions through Medicaid, but women with private insurance plans or higher incomes and women who come from out of state do not qualify.
If approved in the city budget, the money would go to the New York Abortion Access Fund, according to the report. The group provides financial assistance to women who cannot afford to abort their unborn babies on their own.
The New York Times reports about one third of the women who receive money through the group come from other states.
“Abortion access is under attack in this country, and New York City must lead the way in fighting back,” said Comptroller Scott Stringer, who advocated for the abortion funding, along with abortion advocacy groups, the report states.
“When you have the last few dollars in the bank … I want you to come to New York City and know there will be no financial barrier to a safe abortion and health care,” he continued.
Access to abortions may not be a barrier, but there is no guarantee of safety. In January, the state passed a radical pro-abortion law allowing abortions for basically any reason up to birth in the state. The law also allows non-doctors to abort unborn babies, and removes minor, common sense abortion restrictions.
Here’s more from the New York Times:
Abortion rights activists believe that this is the first time that a city will allocate money specifically for abortions. …
The city provides funding to the nonprofit Planned Parenthood, but that organization’s affiliates charge patients on a sliding scale and offer a range of services. The city’s public hospital system also performs abortions, but women face a bureaucracy of requests for proof of income, private insurance and Medicaid.
The abortion access fund provides payment to clinics on behalf of women who might not be able to pay for abortions, but are not covered by insurance or Medicaid. Roughly a third of the fund goes to women who come to New York for abortions.
Elizabeth Nash, an abortion activist at the Guttmacher Institute, said they tried to keep the funding plan quiet because they are afraid people may try to stop it from happening.
“I’ve been sitting with crossed fingers and toes,” Nash said.
New York City has been called the abortion capital of the United States. Government statistics indicate that late-term abortions in the city outnumber homicides by more than four to one.
There were 63,610 unborn babies aborted in the city in 2015, according to city health data.
Action: Contact the New York City Council.
