On 26th Anniversary of FDA Approval, Anti-Abortion Extremists Continue Working to Ban Access to Medication Abortion Nationwide
Restricting medication abortion could eliminate care for 64.5 million patients
WASHINGTON, DC –– Today marks 26 years since the Food and Drug Administration approved the abortion medication, mifepristone, a safe, effective medication that has reshaped abortion care in the U.S. Despite medication abortion’s longstanding approval, anti-abortion extremists have worked to restrict access to mifepristone in recent years as a major push in their efforts to ban abortion nationwide. While medication abortion remains available today, relentless attacks on access have forced patients and providers to navigate a complex and ever-changing legal landscape as extremists continue to chip away at access to care — even in states where abortion is legal.
Over the past 26 years, access to mifepristone has provided millions of people the ability to access necessary and critical abortion care. Medication abortion currently accounts for nearly two-thirds of abortions across the country. According to research from Reproductive Freedom for All, restricting access to medication abortion could eliminate care for 64.5 million people across the country.
To mark the anniversary, Gowri Buddiga, Campaign Director for Free & Just, made the following statement:
“Anti-abortion extremists are using junk science to scare people about safe, effective medication abortion care in order to ban abortion nationwide. Right now, there is an onslaught of attacks on abortion care from federal agencies, the courts, and state legislatures. That’s why we continue uplifting patient storytellers, doctors, and experts about the safety and efficacy of medication abortion, because that can mean the difference in the reproductive freedoms we all have in the future.”
Last week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee held a hearing for Dr. Heidi Overton, the Trump Administration's nominee for FDA commissioner. Dr. Overton’s nomination is one of the biggest threats to medication abortion access since the Dobbs decision. She celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade as "a huge victory for life," dismissed federal legislation protecting abortion rights as "radicalism," and has promoted false claims about the safety of medication abortion that contradict more than two decades of evidence. If Dr. Overton is confirmed to this role, she will be positioned to ban medication abortion — even in states where abortion is legal and protected.
Anti-abortion extremists are also pressuring other federal agencies like the Department of Justice, and even the Environmental Protection Agency to abandon years of evidence-based research and implement policy changes that would provide political cover for them to ban medication abortion nationwide. The efforts to weaponize our government agencies are pervasive: asanti-abortion extremists and lawmakers are pressing the FDA to revoke approval of medication abortion and to appoint Overton, Attorney General Todd Blanche is on record committing to "make Dobbs permanent."
In addition, patients and providers are waiting for a decision in Louisiana v. FDA, a case that seeks to block patients from accessing medication abortion via mail and is motivated solely by politics and anti-abortion extremism, not science. Reinstating an in-person requirement for mifepristone would severely limit patients’ access to this medication abortion — especially Americans in marginalized and rural communities. Ending telehealth and pharmacy access would force many patients to travel hundreds of miles just to receive care, despite leading medical authorities determining that this restriction is not beneficial.
Bottomline: For 26 years, Mifepristone has proven to be safe and effective. Despite years of evidence-based research, anti-abortion extremists are working overtime to ban access to care nationwide by weaponizing government agencies and spreading misinformation to advance their dangerous agenda.
If you are interested in connecting with patients, physicians, or advocates about receiving or providing medication abortion, including those living in states where abortion is currently protected, please contact malachi@freeandjust.us and kelly@freeandjust.us.
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Free & Just is fighting to stop attacks on reproductive freedom and rights. We’re working with people across the country to share real stories to show the devastating consequences of attacks on our reproductive freedom. We all deserve the right to control our bodies and lives. That’s why we’re sharing our stories, raising our voices, and fighting for our future.