| Ms. Memo: This Week in Women's Rights
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From the ongoing fight for abortion rights and access, to elections, to the drive for the Equal Rights Amendment, there are a multitude of battles to keep up with. In this weekly roundup, find the absolute need-to-know news for feminists. |
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Abortion rights activists rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on April 14, 2023, after the Court temporarily preserved access to mifepristone, a widely used abortion pill, in an 11th-hour ruling preventing lower court restrictions on the drug from coming into force. (Probal Rashid / LightRocket via Getty Images) |
BY CARRIE N. BAKER | In June, New York enacted a shield law to protect clinicians offering telemedicine abortion services to patients in states banning abortion. The law shields licensed clinicians from criminal and civil litigation, as well as loss of a medical license and malpractice insurance relating to any legally protected healthcare activity in the state, including prescribing and sending abortion pills to patients living anywhere in the United States.
As soon as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed the new law in mid-June, telemedicine abortion provider, Aid Access, began serving patients living in states banning abortion.
“It’s nice to be playing offense, not defense,” said a New York physician working with Aid Access, which was founded by Dr. Rebecca Gomperts and is based in Austria.
Massachusetts was the first state to pass a telemedicine provider shield law, later followed by Washington, Colorado, Vermont and most recently New York. Between mid-June and mid-July, seven Aid Access clinicians located across these five states mailed pills to 3,500 people located in states banning abortion.
“Seeing the number—3,500 patients—treated since the New York shield law took effect surprises even those who are experienced in doing this work. It shows what people want,” said Julie F. Kay, co-founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine Access, which works to expand the number of states with telemedicine abortion provider shield laws.
California is currently considering such a law.
“Having access to licensed medical providers and FDA-certified medications is so important,” said Kay. “If that’s not available, somebody is going to ship them pills, and if there aren’t instructions or if there isn’t access to follow-up care, we as a movement are not providing the best possible care to people in those particular situations.” (Click here to read more) |
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Because it's hard to keep up with everything going on in the world right now. Here's what we're reading this week: |
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Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on Apple Podcasts + Spotify. In early June 2023, for the second time in two months, Trump was indicted—this time on 37 felony counts for allegedly mishandling sensitive, classified government materials and obstruction of justice. What does this most recent indictment mean for Trump, the 2024 elections, and the future of American democracy as a whole? We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today! |
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