SCOTUS Unanimous Decision Protects Access To Birth Control Pill Mifepristone: Politicians, Organizations Weigh In
In a unanimous decision, the US Supreme Court dismissed a case against the abortion drug mifepristone, allows FDA approval for its over the counter sale to stand.
Staten Islander News previously reported on the FDA’s authorization of this birth control pill for over the counter sale at pharmacies. Following are statements from several politicians and organizations about the ruling.
Booker Statement on Supreme Court Mifepristone Ruling
U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine:
“This meritless case should have been thrown out long before it reached the Supreme Court. Mifepristone is a safe, effective medication approved by the FDA nearly 25 years ago after a rigorous scientific and expert-driven process. Americans depend on this drug for life-saving medical care. It should always remain accessible and affordable to anyone who needs it.
“Two years ago, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority departed from decades of precedent and reversed Roe v. Wade. Abortion care is now under relentless attack by radical politicians across America who want to ban essential health care services with no exceptions. The Dobbs decision also emboldened individuals like the anti-abortion plaintiffs and judges in this case to attempt to restrict others’ access to mifepristone. And make no mistake, efforts to revoke access to mifepristone through the courts and through changes in the law will continue because, while the medication remains legal and available nationwide, nothing in today’s ruling guarantees a right to access it.
“That’s why it’s so essential that Congress act to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade and establish a national right to abortion care. These efforts have stalled because House and Senate Republicans are standing in the way. If they won’t stand up for your health care rights, it’s time to send people to Washington who will.”
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus’ Abortion Rights and Access Task Force, issued the following statement on the Supreme Court’s dismissal of a legal challenge to medication abortion drug mifepristone.
Rep. Pressley, lead sponsor of the Abortion Justice Act and a lead co-sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act, has led calls in Congress for the FDA to remove medically unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone, and applauded the FDA’s action in January 2023 to allow retail pharmacies to dispense abortion medication pills.
“Mifepristone is safe, effective, and legal. This ruling is a major relief and victory for anyone who has or will ever need essential medication abortion care.
“Anti-abortion extremists at every level of government continue to try to rip away critical healthcare from millions of people. This case put essential reproductive healthcare at risk for people across the country, including in Massachusetts. While a catastrophic ban on mifepristone and abortion care was averted today, we know Republicans will continue their coordinated and persistent attacks on our reproductive freedom.
“Congress must legislate to protect and expand access to abortion care, including by passing my Abortion Justice Act and the Women’s Health Protection Act. I will never stop fighting to affirm abortion care as healthcare and the fundamental human right that it is.”
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra Statement on Supreme Court Decision in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra issued the following statement following the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine:
“Mifepristone has been used safely and effectively for more than two decades since it was first approved by the FDA, one of our nation’s most critical public health agencies. Today, this critical medication remains approved and available.
But let’s be clear: women’s health remains under attack. The overturning of Roe v. Wade paved the way for attacks on reproductive rights and women’s ability to make their own decisions about abortion, birth control, and IVF. Every day, women in states across America are forced to live with the devastating consequences of these attacks on reproductive rights. Health care decisions should be made by women in consultation with their doctors—not politicians. At HHS, we will continue take action to strengthen and expand access to health care, protect privacy protections, and preserve individual rights. We will continue the fight to restore Roe v. Wade and defend reproductive rights for all Americans.
Michigan AG Nessel Issues Statement on Supreme Court Upholding Access to Abortion Pill Mifepristone
LANSING – The U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion rejecting an attempt to limit women’s right to reproductive freedom. In Food and Drug Administration, et al. v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, et al., the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision that the Plaintiffs — a group of anti-choice medical associations and individual doctors — do not have standing to challenge the United States Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of mifepristone.
“For over two decades, millions of women in Michigan and across our country have trusted mifepristone, a safe, effective medication used in the majority of abortions,” Nessel said. “Today’s ruling is a victory for every woman’s right to choose. I’m glad to see this absurd attempt by a handful of people to block access to safe health care options defeated. While we celebrate this win for bodily autonomy, this is just one battle in the never-ending fight to protect the right to an abortion. As we speak, legislatures across the nation are drafting new bans to care and lower courts are considering novel challenges to everything from birth control to IVF. My commitment to protecting reproductive freedom for women throughout our great state remains unwavering.”
Mifepristone is one drug of the two-drug regimen used for medication abortion. Medication abortion is a safe alternative to procedural abortion, and more than half of abortions in the United States are performed using medication.
The U.S. Supreme Court reasoned that because the plaintiffs do not prescribe, manufacture, sell, or advertise mifepristone or a competing drug, plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge the Food and Drug Administration’s regulations related to the same. This ruling means that pregnant women in Michigan and throughout the United States will continue to have access to mifepristone pursuant to current regulations on prescription, dispensing, and use. Moreover, this ruling should discourage future challenges by anti-abortion organizations not directly affected by abortion regulations.”
Statement from President Joe Biden on Supreme Court Decision on FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine
Today’s decision does not change the fact that the fight for reproductive freedom continues. It does not change the fact that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, and women lost a fundamental freedom. It does not change the fact that the right for a woman to get the treatment she needs is imperiled if not impossible in many states.
It does mean that mifepristone, or medication abortion, remains available and approved. Women can continue to access this medication – approved by the FDA as safe and effective more than 20 years ago.
But let’s be clear: attacks on medication abortion are part of Republican elected officials’ extreme and dangerous agenda to ban abortion nationwide. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Republican elected officials have imposed extreme abortion bans in 21 states, some of which include zero exceptions for rape or incest. Women are being turned away from emergency rooms, or forced to go to court to plead for care that their doctor recommended or to travel hundreds of miles for care. Doctors and nurses are being threatened with jail time, including life in prison, for providing the health care they have been trained to provide. And contraception and IVF are under attack.
The stakes could not be higher for women across America. Vice President Harris and I stand with the vast majority of Americans who support a woman’s right to make deeply personal health care decisions. We will continue to fight to ensure that women in every state get the health care they need and we will continue to call on Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law — that is our commitment.
CMA [California Medical Association] statement on Supreme Court’s decision maintaining mifepristone’s FDA approval
Sacramento, CA —Tanya W. Spirtos, M.D., president of the California Medical Association (CMA), issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which preserves the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the abortion medication mifepristone:
“The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision today is welcome news, as it will preserve access to the medication mifepristone, which has been used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year, and safeguard patients’ rights to evidence-based reproductive health services.
Mifepristone is a safe and effective drug that has been used by millions of Americans since the FDA approved its use more than 20 years ago. Limiting the availability of mifepristone would have had devastating health impacts and further intruded on the private health choices of patients. CMA is pleased the Supreme Court has rejected this attempt to interfere with the FDA approval process.
As physicians, we at CMA believe it is essential that patients have access to vital, often life-saving, reproductive health care. CMA stands committed to protecting the fundamental right to access reproductive health services. We will continue to work to ensure that personal medical decisions are made by patients in consultation with their health care providers.”
Banner Image: Court rulings on reproductive freedom. Image Credit – geralt
Staten Islander News Service Staff Writer
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