New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation at the beginning of February that shields prescribers of dangerous abortion pills to pregnant women from accountability. A new letter sent on behalf of “thousands” of doctors, however, warns Hochul that her attempt to force Empire State pharmacies to replace the name of healthcare professionals who prescribe drugs like mifepristone and misoprostol with the name or address of their practice puts women at risk and should be rescinded.
“Concealing doctors’ identity recklessly endangers the patients we’re meant to serve,” the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs (AAPLOG) wrote in a letter to Hochul. “It compounds the risks of telehealth prescription of mifepristone without in-person consultations, and the barriers it creates to identifying prescribing physicians could mean the difference between life and death for patients.”
In addition to putting women and babies’ lives on the line, New York, according to AAPLOG, is making it easier for providers to shirk their duties to give patients “transparency and accountability” instead of “obfuscation and barriers.”
“As physicians, when we prescribe a medication, our job goes beyond simply writing the order for that medication,” the letter states. “Patients deserve a doctor who can assess their individual risks for a drug – for mifepristone this assessment necessitates an in-person consultation – accompany them through their entire course of care, and ensure their successful and complete treatment.”
The New York State legislature’s Democrat majority put the bill on Hochul’s desk just days after the Louisiana grand jury indictment of New York Dr. Margaret Daley Carpenter. The legislators and Hochul’s hope, which they have repeatedly and publicly emphasized, is to make it harder for states with pro-life protections to enforce their laws against pro-abortion states and doctors’ activism.
Louisiana charged Carpenter, the Abortion Coalition of Telemedicine founder and co-medical director, for prescribing abortion drugs online taken by a pregnant minor in Louisiana. Texas also sued and fined Carpenter for her role in prescribing the pill from more than 1500 miles away to a 20-year-old woman who went to the hospital with hemorrhaging complications.
Data has shown the drug regimen Carpenter prescribed is responsible for more than half of the nation’s abortions, but it is known to cause side effects such as hemorrhage, “fast, weak pulse,” “trouble breathing,” diarrhea, dizziness, headache, vomiting, “pain” across the back, arms, neck, and abdomen. In some cases, the pills are fatal.
AAPLOG, citing examples of women like Amber Thurman, Candi Miller, and Alyona Dixon who suffered severe and even fatal complications as a result of abortion pills, expressed concern that the New York law “will contribute to more tragic cases.”
“This new law makes doctors less accessible to the patients they’re serving, erects hurdles for patients with follow-up questions, and adds time-consuming and potentially fatal roadblocks to medical consultations that could be necessary in the event of complications,” the letter continued.
CEO of AAPLOG Dr. Christina Francis said in a statement that if New York is “truly concerned about protecting women,” Hochul and her allies in the legislature “should rescind this dangerous law.”
New York, under Hochul’s watch and direction, has poured millions of dollars into expanding its radical abortion regime by stockpiling abortion pills, shoring up legal loopholes for abortionists, and even suing pregnancy centers that offer abortion pill reversals to women who regret ingesting the life-ending drug.
Jordan Boyd is a staff writer at The Federalist and producer of The Federalist Radio Hour. Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.