The city has launched a phone line that will help New Yorkers seeking abortion care connect with licensed health care providers, officials said Tuesday.
New Yorkers who dial 877-NYC-AHUB will reach the city’s new “Abortion Access Hub,” a phone service whose operators will transfer callers to licensed, five boroughs-based abortion care providers, Mayor Eric Adams and the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, said in a press release.
The hub will be open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., the release said, adding that all calls will be “confidential and anonymous.”
Adams and Vasan’s announcement came nearly five months after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion.
“The Dobbs decision may have been the Supreme Court’s latest attack on human rights and health care, but New York City will continue to be a safe haven for anyone seeking to access a safe, legal abortion,” Adams said in a statement. “New York City will continue to respect, protect, and fulfill the core tenets of our fundamental right to choose, and will fight to ensure quality, affordable health care is accessible to all those who seek an abortion.”
The hub’s staffers “will include individuals who are bilingual in English and Spanish, and the nine most spoken languages and American Sign Language will be available to callers,” the release noted. Staffers were “trained on customer service, confidentiality, sexual and reproductive justice, and gender-inclusive services,” according to the release.
“Callers will be asked about their needs and preferences, such as preferred day of the week, location, and interest in medication abortion, as well as whether they need assistance with cost or insurance,” the release said.
“If financial assistance is needed in order to obtain an abortion, navigators will connect people seeking care to clinical partners to facilitate resources, including financial support for the procedure, transportation and/or lodging,” the release added.
In his own statement, Vasan said the city would “not stand by passively when human rights are at stake.”
“Our city is a safe haven for so many, and we are proud to be the first in the nation to offer this type of service to people simply exercising their basic rights over their bodies and their health,” Vasan said. “When people’s liberties are threatened, our city will always stand on the side of health, human rights, justice, and care for those in need.”