"Letter to the Editor" Kathy Adorney

In 1970 New York passed a ground-breaking law:  “Article 125-NY Penal Law: Homicide, Abortion and Related Offenses”. At the time this law was passed, abortion was a crime The new law only amended the parameters of the crime. It determined that an “abortional act is justifiable when...it is being committed by a duly licensed physician, acting under a reasonable belief that such act is necessary to preserve (the female’s) life, or, within twenty-four weeks from the commencement of her pregnancy.”  It did not make an exception for a woman’s health or for the viability of the fetus.

1. The Reproductive Health Act (RHA) which was signed into law January 22, 2019:
2. Removed the regulation of abortion from the Penal Code and placed it in the Public Health Law.
3. Allows Advanced Care Clinicians, (licensed, certified, or authorized practitioners, such as nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants) duly trained in abortion care, to perform abortions.

Ensures that a woman can access the care she needs when pregnancy places her health at risk or when the fetus is not viable.

Limiting the performance of abortions to medical doctors is a burden for women who live in rural areas of New York where access to a physician is limited.  They typically have to miss days of work, often unpaid, to travel to a doctor.  They may also have to arrange for childcare.  These difficulties can result in a delay in getting the care they need and thus, a latter abortion.  Allowing Advanced Care Clinicians to provide abortions will reduce that burden.

Allowing later term abortions when a fetus is not viable or when the pregnancy places a woman’s health at risk, is a humane provision. To put a human face to this issue here are some real examples (Stories abridged from “Critical Conditions:  How New York’s Unconstitutional Abortion Law Jeopardizes Women’s Health”, K, Bodde & S. Krueger, NYCLU, 2017)

She was told by her doctors that her cancer treatments would make it impossible for her to get pregnant.  Late in her second trimester she found out that they were wrong.  Further tests revealed that her cancer treatments had damaged the fetus and it would not survive.  But because she was more than 24 weeks into her pregnancy, she was prohibited from receiving an abortion in New York State.  She travelled thousands of miles to receive care in another state.

In her 24th week of pregnancy she began having seizures.  Years earlier she had been treated for melanoma.  It was now in her brain and had spread elsewhere in her body.  If she was not treated for the melanoma she would likely live for only a few weeks after giving birth.  Treatment now could give her more time, but would be toxic to the fetus.  She and her husband had to consider the needs of their young child at home.  It was a wrenching decision, but they were certain the best course for their family was treatment for her cancer and a focus on quality of life.  Despite her condition and the needs of her family, an abortion in New York was no longer possible.  The couple had to travel to Kansas.

A routine ultrasound in the third trimester revealed that the baby had had a massive brain hemorrhage.  It destroyed his cerebral cortex. If he even survived delivery, he would be kept alive by machines.  Termination was the only way to prevent his suffering.  But “because I was in the third trimester, there was no one who could provide this kind of care for me in New York. We were shocked.  With the help of our hospital, we found a doctor across the country who would treat us.“           

The RHA takes abortion out of the penal code, provides for better access to legal and safe abortions, and allows families a humane choice when things go terribly wrong late in a pregnancy.   That is why loving, humane women and men have fought for the RHA for many years.  We welcome its passage.   

Publishing history:

New Paltz Times 2/14/19