Clinicians Urge the Supreme Court to Protect Access to Mifepristone
On March 26, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a case in which anti-abortion activists are continuing their ongoing attacks on abortion and other reproductive health care by challenging the authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expand access to mifepristone. In anticipation, clinician organizations dedicated to preserving and expanding access to reproductive health care services issued the following statement. “As organizations that represent physicians, midwives, nurse practitioners, genetic counselors, nurses, medical students, researchers, and other clinicians, we urge the Supreme Court to protect access to mifepristone. Mifepristone, commonly used in abortion care and miscarriage management, is essential to the health of our patients. Decades of research have demonstrated that mifepristone is safe and effective. Yet, last year, rulings in a Texas court, later upheld on appeal, rejected FDA actions that broadened access to mifepristone. These rulings contradict scientific evidence and the consensus of leading health and medical organizations. Medication abortion is essential health care. As such, many of our organizations have weighed in at every stage of this case, affirming the safety and efficacy of mifepristone and denouncing the case as baseless. Decisions about all health care, including abortion, are best made by an individual with support from the healthcare team. Arbitrary restrictions on abortion care result in harm to patients and needless suffering.”