When some members of the New York City Council heard about all the abortion restrictions being passed by other states, they wanted to do something. One Councilmember, Carlina Rivera, told the NY Times that many in NY felt “helpless.”

“We wanted to do more.” 

What the New York City Council decided was to allocate city funds to help women pay for their abortions, including women who come here from other states. The money will go to the New York Abortion Access Fund (NYAAF), a nonprofit organization that provides payment to clinics for women who need financial help for abortion services.  

Unlike many states, New York has basically no restrictive laws on getting abortions, and because of that many patients come here for procedures. In recent months Choices itself has had patients from Ohio, Montana, Florida, Bermuda and many other locations outside NYC.  These patients are often low-income and depend heavily on funding sources.  Choices works closely with NYAAF and other funding groups to help meet their needs.

NYC officials told the Times that the $250,000 would pay for about 500 women to get abortion procedures. While that number may be small compared to the number of women who get abortions in New York each year, this decision by the City Council is a HUGE positive example for public officials in other cities and states.