Schakowsky Statement on District Court Decision to Suspend FDA Approval of Mifepristone
WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Chair of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus Providers and Clinics Task Force, issued the following statement on the decision in the case Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, in which Trump-appointed Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk has stayed FDA approval of Mifepristone—which studies have proven to be safe and effective, and is currently used in over half of abortions. The stay would go into effect in seven days:
“Along with many of you, I am closely reviewing the decision that came down last night in the Texas case Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, which, unlike previous abortion rulings, would restrict the use of the most common abortion method nationwide. Regardless of what lies in the fine print, let me be clear: Mifepristone was safe and effective when the FDA first approved it over two decades ago, and has remained that way ever since. Study after study has found medication abortions to be an exceedingly safe and effective way to end a pregnancy. The idea that these physicians were ‘fighting to protect life’ or are concerned about the safety of Mifepristone is outrageous. A robust audit by the Government Accountability Office in 2008 found that the FDA’s approval of Mifepristone was consistent with other drugs.
“Medication abortion is used to provide care for women suffering from ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages, women who have pregnancies with severe fetal anomalies, and women who are victims of rape and incest. But most importantly, medication abortion is used when someone wants to exercise their own bodily autonomy and needs an abortion.
“Roe vs. Wade was not the beginning of women having abortions; it was the end of women dying from abortions. Public health experts and patient advocates warned that the rogue U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs would unleash a crisis for women’s health nationwide and empower anti-abortion extremists to prevent access to care. These extremists tout their ‘concern for life.’ It is a lie: their only goal is to make abortions a crime nationwide.
“Lastly, the impact of this lawsuit also goes beyond medication abortion access. It threatens the FDA’s authority over the drug approval process, which could severely limit the development of new drugs overall and have far-reaching repercussions on patients’ access to FDA-approved medications.
“As additional details are made clear in the coming hours and days, know that as a proud member of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, I will never stop fighting for reproductive freedom and access to reproductive health care, including medication abortion, for all people. Abortion is health care.”
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