From REPRO Rising Virginia:
REPRO Rising Virginia Condemns Ruling on Medication Abortion Case, Applauds Proactive Case that Counters
A federal lawsuit has undermined the FDAs authority and approval of Mifepristone
Richmond, Va – REPRO Rising Virginia strongly condemns Friday’s late evening ruling in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. Food and Drug Administration which revokes the 22-year-old approval of mifepristone as part of the medication abortion regimen. The anti-abortion Texas judge in this case also issued a seven-day stay on the order to give the FDA time to respond. This means the ruling is not in effect for now.
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Washington State released a subsequent countering ruling in Washington et al. v. FDA on Friday evening ordering the FDA to “maintain the status quo ” – meaning mifepristone will remain available. However, this order only applies to 18 states and the District of Columbia. Virginia is not one of those states.
Mifepristone is one of the two most common prescriptions used in the medication abortion protocol. The FDA first approved mifepristone over 20 years ago, and it is a safe and effective method of ending early pregnancy. An overwhelming body of scientific and medical evidence shows mifepristone is safe and effective for virtually anyone in a variety of practice settings (via telehealth, in person, or managing care on their own).
“This unjust and unprecedented ruling is just another example of how far the extreme anti-abortion right is willing to go to achieve its ultimate goal – to ban abortion outright. Thanks to more than 20 years of research and medical provision, we know that medication abortion care – using mifepristone and misoprostol – is a safe and effective method of ending a pregnancy. It is also patients preferred method of abortion in 2023 and the most common way to end a pregnancy,” says Tarina Keene, executive director of REPRO Rising Virginia speaking about the decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA.
“This callous and politically motivated decision could have a devastating impact on the most marginalized people in our country and here in the Commonwealth – Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, people who are immigrants, people with low incomes, and rural people – who already face the most barriers to care because of multiple, ongoing systems of oppression that are designed to control and punish people, their families, and their lives. People deserve to have the healthcare they want and need with their preferred method of abortion without unnecessary burdens, hurdles, or discrimination. This ruling must not stand.”
“In putting bodily autonomy and access to critical care in jeopardy, the decision out of Texas to overturn FDA approval of mifepristone demonstrates a blatant mischaracterization of how medication abortion care works and shamefully stigmatizes patients and providers along the way,” says Lexi White, Policy Director of REPRO Rising Virginia.
“Medication abortion is a safe and effective part of a full spectrum of reproductive and pregnancy-related care that patients need access to without interference, especially now, and especially in geographic regions where barriers to the full range of reproductive healthcare are many. We will continue our work to protect access to abortion healthcare in Virginia and the region.”
REPRO Rising Virginia will continue to work every day to protect and advance access to abortion and contraception and to make Virginia a safe haven for reproductive freedom.
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