Senate Bill S9945

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9945

SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to the labeling of medi-
cation abortion prescription drugs

 
PURPOSE OF BILL:

To allow providers prescribing medication abortion drugs to request that
the dispensing pharmacy print the name of their practice on the label,
instead of their name.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 6810 of the education law by adding a new
subdivision 1-a to allow prescribers to request that the name of their
practice, rather than their own name, be printed on the prescription
drug label for abortion drugs.

Section 2 sets forth the effective date.
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Since the Supreme Court's disastrous decision to revoke the constitu-
tional right to an abortion in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organ-
ization in June 2022, states around the country have moved to restrict
access to abortion. As of October 2024, twenty-one states had more
restrictive laws than permitted under Roe v. Wade. Thirteen of those
states had functionally a full ban; another four banned abortion after 6
weeks, when few women even know they are pregnant.(1) Over half of women
between the ages of 18-49 live in a state with some restrictions on
abortion care.(2)

Medication abortion has become a lifeline for many individuals seeking
abortions in hostile states. In 2023, New York passed a telehealth
shield law (Chapter 138 of the laws of 2023) to provide broad protection
to doctors based in New York serving patients in those states via tele-
health. These protections include shielding New York health care practi-
tioners against states that may try to impose criminal sanctions upon
them and protection from professional disciplinary action or adverse
action from medical malpractice insurers.  Thanks to New York's shield
law, providers based in New York are able to send thousands of abortion
pills to patients based in hostile states each month, helping women who
may not otherwise be able to access abortion care. According to research
by the Society for Family Planning, one in five abortions provided in
December 2023 were done via telehealth. Of these, an estimated 48% were
provided by doctors in states with shield laws, like New York's.(3)

This bill builds on New York's shield law, by providing further
protection to doctor's prescribing medication abortion to patients in
hostile states. Modeled after a recently enacted Washington law (Chapter
257 of Washington laws of 2024), this bill would allow prescribers to
request that the dispensing pharmacy include the name of their practice,
rather than their name, on the prescription label for medication
abortion pills.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
1 McCann, Allison and Schoenfeld Walker, Amy. ""Tracking Abortion Bans
Across the Country." New York Times. Last updated Oct 7, 2024.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/us/abortion-laws-roe-v-wade.html
2  Gomez,  Ivette  et al. "10 Things to Know About Abortion Access Since
the Dobbs Decision." Kaiser Family Foundation. Published June 20, 2024.
 https://wvvw.kff.orq/policy-watch/10-  things-to-know-about-  abortion-
access-since-the-dobbs-decision/ 3lbid