Though New York has a reputation as the abortion capital of America, some state lawmakers think it still is too hard for New Yorkers to abort their unborn babies.
Recently, state Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, a pro-abortion Democrat from the East Side of Manhattan, introduced a bill to force public colleges in New York to provide free abortion drugs to students on campus.
New York Assembly Bill 8743 would require abortion drugs to be provided up to 10 weeks of pregnancy at all State University of New York schools. It also would create a new fund with taxpayer dollars to run the pro-abortion program.
The state already has 87 abortion facilities, the second highest of any state in the country. But, according to Campus Reform, Epstein wants even easier access; he said students should be able to get abortions without missing class.
The legislation comes less than a year after New York politicians passed a radical pro-abortion law allowing unborn babies to be aborted for basically any reason up to birth. The law drew massive national outrage for stripping away basically all protections for unborn babies and some for women, too.
Pro-life advocates already are raising major concerns with Epstein’s proposal.
Bobby Miller of the College Republicans at NYU, described the bill as an “absolute travesty.”
“Modern medical innovation has torpedoed the left’s narrative that a fetus isn’t an independent being,” Miller told Campus Reform. “I am worried college campuses in NYS will become the latest in a long line of abortion victims. Sadly, the New York State legislators have repeatedly chosen to disregard scientific facts to forward their radical agenda.”
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Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, also warned about the dangers of the plan.
“The New York legislation, like the California legislation, will put women in harm’s way,” she told the news outlet. “Women deserve better than dangerous toilet-bowl abortions; women deserve real help, like the help we provide through our Pregnant on Campus Initiative.”
The legislation is not pro-choice. It is pro-abortion. Michele Sterlace-Accorsi, executive director of Feminists Choosing Life of New York, told WROC News 8 that the bill does not provide any support to students who choose life for their unborn babies.
“What it doesn’t help finance are campus child care centers, any kind of desperately needed prenatal care,” Sterlace-Accorsi said. “These are the impediments that interfere with women’s ability to carry unplanned pregnancies to term, to choose life for their children and also have a career.”
California lawmakers passed a similar law in October, ignoring strong opposition and serious concerns about students’ safety, liabilities and costs. New York and California have some of the most liberal abortion laws in the country and the most abortion facilities. In California, the average distance to an abortion facility from a college campus is only about 5 miles.
Many expressed concerns about the California law before it passed. The University of California and the California State University systems said they are not prepared to handle the immense costs of providing abortions on campus, according to CBS 13 Sacramento. They pointed to the costs of ultrasound machines, staff training, increased liabilities and more.
The abortion drugs that would be provided on campus are unsafe for unborn babies and mothers. According to the FDA, at least 24 women died along with their unborn babies after taking the abortion drug. Complications include heavy bleeding, infections and incomplete abortions that require surgery. The FDA documented at least 4,000 cases of serious complications, including more than 1,000 women who required hospitalization after taking the abortion drug.
ACTION: Contact New York Assembly members and urge them to oppose AB 8743.
