NYC Health + Hospitals offers telehealth abortion services

New York City Health and Hospitals (H+H) has begun offering telehealth abortion services—and it is the first US public health system to do so, executives touted in an October 2 announcement.

The move is the city’s latest to improve abortion access for residents following the June 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.

“Last year, an activist Supreme Court undermined almost 50 years of settled law by overturning Roe v. Wade, but New Yorkers know that access to safe, legal abortion care is the cornerstone of public health, and we will not stand idly by as these attacks on women continue,” Adams said.

Patients can schedule a virtual abortion assessment with a licensed provider through NYC H+H Virtual ExpressCare, an extension of the system’s walk-in urgent care clinics. Virtual abortion services are available via phone or video call, though only patients in New York City can access the telehealth care, according to the announcement.

If clinically appropriate, patients receive a medication abortion kit through the mail within a few days of the assessment, according to the health system. The kit is available for eligible patients who are up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy.

“Telehealth abortion care allows the people in our lives to make the choices they need privately and safely, so that they can decide what is best for them and their futures,” Adams said. “This is about protecting the ability for women to control their own bodies, their choices, and their freedoms.”

Earlier this year, New York City expanded medication abortion access through its city-run sexual health clinics, Healthcare Brew previously reported.