Mifepristone in Jeopardy as Texas Court Case is Challenged

St. Paul, MN—In the middle of the night, two Trump-nominated judges of a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel largely denied the Biden administration’s request to issue a stay of the district court ruling in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine et al v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration et al. The Department of Justice has announced it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to immediately intervene to keep mifepristone available.  

Statement from Ruth Richardson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood North Central States: 

 “While we wait for more judges to weigh in on access to essential abortion health care, we’re grappling with a court taking action to limit abortion access across our country. While we navigate through ambiguity and brace for more updates from the courts, our patients are confused and scared.   

The research is clear with over two decades of evidence that mifepristone is safe and effective when used for medication abortion and miscarriage management. This case is a politically motivated attack to further restrict access to abortion that will place care out of reach for many of our patients. The federal judiciary has — for the second time — rejected science and the law, and this time, the court decided they had the authority to re-write mifepristone’s label. If allowed to stand, the consequences of this decision will be catastrophic not just for medication abortion access, but for our entire drug approval system.  

If allowed to stand, the harmful impact of this ruling will fall most on those who already are disproportionately burdened by health inequities. Our Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities, people with low incomes, immigrants, and those living in rural communities will bear the brunt of this consequences.  

We are proud to provide abortion care to our many patients across the Midwest and the country, and we will keep fighting for your access to essential abortion care.” 

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Planned Parenthood North Central States and its subsidiary organizations provide, promote, and protect reproductive and sexual health through high quality care, education and advocacy. A member of America’s most trusted reproductive health care provider, our affiliate is proud to support and operate 2 health centers across our five-state region (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota).  Each year, we provide health care to nearly 115,000 people and health education to more than 55,000 people in our region.