Trump Administration Asks SCOTUS to Reinstate Medically Unnecessary Barriers to Medication Abortion During Pandemic

Federal court previously suspended the FDA’s in-person requirements on mifepristone during the pandemic in order to reduce potential exposure to COVID-19

New York, NY — Today, the Trump Administration asked the Supreme Court to reinstate a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policy that unnecessarily subjects patients to COVID-19 risks in order to access safe and legal medication abortion during the pandemic. The FDA’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) restrictions on mifepristone mandate that patients pick up mifepristone directly from a doctor’s office, hospital, or other health center — rather than from a pharmacy or mail as they could for other equally safe medications.

Mifepristone is safe, effective, and has been used by more than four million people since the FDA approved it twenty years ago. Research has repeatedly shown that mifepristone is safe and effective when prescribed through telehealth and self-administered at home. Since July, the medically unnecessary REMS requirements have been temporarily suspended by a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, and other leading medical organizations and reproductive health, rights, and justice advocates.

Statement from Alexis McGill Johnson, president & CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

“As COVID-19 ravages Black, Latino, Indigenous, and other communities of color across the country, the Trump administration should be aiming to keep us healthy — not moving forward with an agenda to endanger people who seek abortion. The FDA’s in-person requirements on mifepristone subject patients to unnecessary exposure to a deadly virus, and two federal courts have already rejected the Trump administration’s argument. Forcing patients to travel to a health center to access the safe, effective medication they need especially hurts people of color and people with low-incomes, who already face more barriers to care. Planned Parenthood works every day to ensure that patients can get the care they need as safely as possible — so should our elected officials.”

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Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 600 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.