Press Release  AG Campbell Calls On Supreme Court To Reverse Lower Court's Ruling On Medication Abortion

BOSTON — Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has today joined a multistate coalition of 24 attorneys general in protecting access to medication abortion nationwide.

The coalition of attorneys general filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) and Danco Laboratories LLC’s petitions to reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s ruling that reinstated certain medically unnecessary, and previously eliminated, restrictions on the medication.

Mifepristone is the only FDA-approved abortion medication, and the coalition argues that the Fifth Circuit’s ruling threatens dangerous consequences to reproductive health care outcomes, particularly for low-income and underserved communities. 

“It is critical that patients be able to access evidence-based reproductive care, including FDA-approved mifepristone.,” said AG Campbell. “I am proud to join this multistate coalition in supporting the FDA’s independent, scientific decisions permitting appropriate access to mifepristone, which plays a crucial role in advancing bodily autonomy and the right to choose for all.”

Attorney General Campbell and the coalition are urging the Supreme Court to grant the FDA’s and drugmaker’s petitions to bring the case on medication abortion before the Court and then reverse the Fifth Circuit’s poorly reasoned decision restricting how mifepristone can be prescribed and dispensed. The amicus brief highlights that the Fifth Circuit’s decision ignores decades of high-quality evidence and clinical research that shows mifepristone is safe and effective.

The coalition notes that if the Fifth Circuit’s decision is permitted to take effect, it could disrupt access to the most common method of abortion, harming countless individuals in need of abortion care or management of pregnancy loss, with widespread implications for the healthcare system. Among other things, the ruling could lead many individuals to undergo procedural abortion, delay abortion procedures later in pregnancy, drive up risks and costs,  and deprive many individuals of access to reproductive health care altogether. The coalition further argues that the ruling would create widespread confusion among providers, distributers, and pharmacies, and radically destabilize the regulatory process for drug approvals, stifling scientific innovation and imperiling the development and availability of thousands of drugs nationwide.

During an era of unprecedented national attacks on reproductive care, AG Campbell has continued to ensure Massachusetts remains a beacon for reproductive justice. Most recently, earlier this month, AG Campbell established a Reproductive Justice Unit focused on expanding and protecting access to reproductive and gender affirming care, addressing disparities in maternal health, tackling misinformation and disinformation that prevents access to care, working across state lines to respond to national attacks on reproductive health care and championing and defending Massachusetts’ strong legal protections for reproductive rights.

Joining AG Campbell in submitting today’s amicus brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

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