Abortion pills: What to know, costs, prescription info for New York State

New York City-run health clinics will begin providing pills to terminate a pregnancy — a move that comes a week after a pair of retail pharmacy chains announced plans to dispense abortion medication, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Morrisania Sexual Health Clinic in the Bronx will begin dispensing Mifepristone, which, when used with another pill, Misoprostol, can safely end a pregnancy within the first 10 weeks, Adams said during a City Hall announcement.

Other city-run sexual health clinics in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Jamaica, Queens and in Central Harlem will provide abortion pills later this year, he said. The city's 11 public hospitals already offer medication abortion.

The city will have the capacity to serve up to 10,000 patients each year once all four clinics are certified to dispense the pills, officials said.

"No other city in the nation or in the world has a public health department that has provided medication abortion," Adams said Tuesday. 

Here's everything you need about medication abortions:

What is medication abortion and how does it work?

An abortion can be safely terminated in pregnancies up to 10 weeks by taking a combination of two drugs. Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone, preventing a pregnancy from progressing any further. The second drug, Misoprostol, causes contractions that empty the uterus.

The drugs have become the most common form of abortions in the country, representing 51% of all procedures in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It's something that can be … self managed and makes that option more available to more people," said Martine Hackett, associate professor of health professions at Hofstra University. "It's going to be more accepted that people are going to have more control over their decisions and their bodies."

Are the abortion medications available at local pharmacies?

Last week, CVS and Walgreens, the two largest drugstore chains in the country, announced they would seek certification to offer the medication. The companies must still train their pharmacists to dispense the medication.

The move came after a rule change by the Food and Drug Administration which, for the first time, allowed retail pharmacies to offer the pills directly to consumers in states where abortion is legal. Previously, the FDA required patients to obtain abortion pills in-person at clinics, hospitals and other health care providers.

Can I get medication abortion pills without a prescription?

The drugs are not available over the counter and patients must still obtain a prescription from a doctor or health care provider. The average retail prices runs about $75.

Do I need to be an adult to obtain medication abortion pills?

There is no age requirement in New York State to have an abortion but many states require youths under 18 to get permission from a parent or guardian.

Will the pills be available in all 50 states?

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, several states outlawed the sale of Mifepristone and Misoprostol, even preventing states such as New York from mailing the pills to areas that prohibit the practice. But New York continues to have one of the nation's strongest abortion right laws.

"In a state like New York, where we have many benefits of abortion access," Hackett said, "this is just another way to make it more accessible."

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.