A message from Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region RE: Texas medication abortion ruling
For Immediate Release: April 10, 2023
Friday evening, we received the devastating news that a U.S. district judge overturned the FDA’s approval of Mifepristone, a medication used when performing a medication abortion. This decision will take effect in seven days, pending government approval. But it’s important to know: Abortion is legal in the state of Ohio.
This ruling is both devastating and unprecedented—over-turning 20+ years of federal approval of the medication. Let’s be clear: questioning the use of mifepristone denies decades of documented safety and efficacy. There is overwhelming evidence that medication abortion is safe and effective for virtually anyone who wants to end an early pregnancy, with a safety record of over 99% and mifepristone has been used by more than five million people since the FDA approved it more than 20 years ago.
This bogus lawsuit attempts to cast doubt and fear by ignoring evidence and denies medical providers the ability to choose which medication is best for a patient. We won’t stand for it.
It is undeniable that anti-abortion rights activists and politicians never planned to stop at overturning Roe and allowing states to ban abortion. They are actively working to dismantle sexual and reproductive health care nationwide, and this lawsuit is the most recent in a terrifying series of attempts.
We understand how scary this news feels… and the reality is, the consequences of this case could have a dire impact on the options a patient has. This precedent could be incredibly far-reaching — and go as far as taking mifepristone entirely off the market nationwide — even in states where abortion is accessible and protected.
Know this: we will never stop fighting for you, or your right to access all forms of private, safe and non-judgmental reproductive health care.
The approval of mifepristone has helped ensure that patients are able to make their own private medical decisions, and it has expanded access to reproductive health care—and we’re not willing to go back.
Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region remains committed to fighting to ensure access to all methods of abortion. The fight ahead is long, and this battle is nowhere near over. It will take all of us, together.