MA: Reproductive Equity Now Statement After Supreme Court Grants Cert to Mifepristone Case

SCOTUS to hear oral arguments in coming months on case with no basis in science, medicine

BOSTON (December 13, 2023) – Reproductive Equity Now President Rebecca Hart Holder released the following statement after the United States Supreme Court today granted certiorari to U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, a baseless case that challenges the current accessibility of mifepristone, one of two medications used in a typical medication abortion regimen. From today’s Court order, it appears that the Supreme Court will not hear arguments on whether or not to overturn the FDA’s original 2000 approval of mifepristone.

In the coming months, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether to uphold the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal’s purely political ruling to reinstate pre-2016 restrictions on mifepristone, including a medically-unnecessary seven-week gestational limit and whether to hamper telemedicine access to mifepristone by reinstating in-person dispensing requirements. This would result in additional trips to the clinic for patients, disproportionately restricting access to care for both rural and low-income communities, who may not be able to afford to take time off of work or find child care in order to travel to a clinic.

Rebecca Hart Holder, President of Reproductive Equity Now: “Today, abortion remains legal in all New England states. Patients should keep their abortion appointments on the books and continue to access care. But to be clear: this sham of a legal proceeding is nothing more than a politically-motivated, baseless attack on reproductive health care. Mifepristone is a safe and effective drug that has been used millions of times across our country since the FDA approved it more than 20 years ago. This case is a feeble attempt by far-right, anti-abortion extremists to reach across borders and restrict access to abortion in all 50 states, including Massachusetts.

“We hope that the Supreme Court will rule using truth, science, and fact. However, the Dobbs decision is a clarion reminder that we cannot rely on this tilted judiciary to vindicate our rights. We are not confident in the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence, but we are confident in our movement’s ability to keep providing compassionate abortion care to those who want it. State leaders will once again be poised to serve on the frontlines of this fight. And in 2024, it will be crucial to have leadership, from city halls to state houses to the Oval Office, that is committed to reproductive equity for all.”

Mifepristone, taken as part of a medication abortion regimen, is a safe and effective way to terminate a pregnancy. Mifepristone has been approved by the FDA since 2000 and has since been used more than four million times across the country. More than 50% of abortions nationally are medication abortions. Medication abortion has a 99% safety rate and more than a 95% efficacy rate. There is a safe alternative medication abortion regimen, which consists of taking only misoprostol pills, the second drug used in a typical medication abortion regimen.

State leadership in support of reproductive freedom will remain critical to meet this threat to mifepristone access.

This April, in response to U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s anti-abortion ruling in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey worked with the University of Massachusetts Amherst to purchase approximately 15,000 doses of mifepristone to ensure sufficient coverage in the state for more than one year. The Healey-Driscoll Administration also dedicated $1 million to support providers contracted with the Department of Public Health in paying for additional doses of mifepristone. 

In 2022, Massachusetts lawmakers passed best-in-the-nation shield protections for providers offering, and patients obtaining, abortion care from hostile-out-of-state litigation. Governor Healey issued an Executive Order confirming that the state’s shield law should be interpreted to protect patients’ access to, and providers’ ability to offer, medication abortion, including mifepristone.

Providers, patients, or helpers who have questions about their rights or ability to access abortion care can contact the Massachusetts Abortion Legal Hotline at 833-309-6301 to be connected with pro bono legal resources.

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