Eric Adams, New York City’s Democratic mayor, gave a speech about women’s health. He promised to introduce new programs that are gender-based, including free medication for abortions at city clinics. A few other topics he mentioned were vaginal discomfort, his sister’s experiences with menstruation, and the “stigmas” associated with menopause.
Adams accompanied a few black women wearing masks who spoke out against the idea of “betraying [women]” when it comes to their health. He then began to list the harms being done to women, especially “Black and Latino women”, as well as the ways New York would address them.
Adams also addressed his personal concerns about women. She said Adams had once come before her to tell them, “I believe we need to talk more about the vaginas. ‘
Adams suggested that he was interested in women’s health after he witnessed his sister suffering from painful periods. Adams said that although she was experiencing pain, it was not something that was taken seriously. She thought it was all in her head and was acting out hysterically.
He then spoke of his mother’s struggles with menopause. Then he mentioned his mother’s struggle with menopause. Adams later said that NYC would “change the stigma surrounding menopause.”. Adams didn’t go into detail about NYC buildings that aren’t friendly to women going through it or how they can be made more accommodating.
Perhaps the most notable promise Adams made in his speech was that abortion-inducing drugs, which he euphemistically called “medication,” will be dispensed for free at one city clinic in the Bronx beginning on Wednesday. Three other city clinics will be licensed to dispense the abortion pills, free of charge, by the end of the year. “No other city in the nation or in the world has a public health department that is providing medication abortion,” he bragged. “We are the first.”
“And let me be clear,” Adams stated elsewhere in his speech, “abortion is and always will be legal in New York City.”
Adams made a special mention of women who identify themselves as men in a tribute to them. Adams also spoke out on “women” when he discussed the disparate maternal mortality rates of white mothers and black mothers. A New York press release changed the language to refer only to “Black pregnant woman” and “White pregnant woman.”
Adams concluded by stating that “We are building a city to be loved by all women and girls.”
