This Week’s Medication Abortion Decision
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit made a ruling in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA that puts the future of accessible medication abortion in further jeopardy.
In November 2022, a group of anti-abortion medical providers sued the FDA over its approval of the common abortion medication mifepristone.
Conservative judges ruled on Tuesday in favor of the anti-abortion medical providers. The court called for a reinstatement of unnecessary and onerous restrictions on the medication. If the ruling is allowed by the Supreme Court to take effect, it would curtail access for when and how people can receive this vital care.
These restrictions, including a ban on mailing mifepristone, are medically unnecessary and stigmatizing, only serving to delay or fully stop access to care.
Although these restrictions will not immediately go into effect, this decision sets the case up to go to Supreme Court.
Now more than ever we need to be loud in our support of safe and affordable access to to abortion care. More than half of abortions in the United States involve the use of mifepristone. Limiting access to this essential drug will have a disproportionate impact on those already most vulnerable – low income, immigrant, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and rural communities as well as survivors of domestic or sexual violence.
Today, take the time to learn more about this important case and we will be in touch soon with action steps to protect access!