Press Release  AG Campbell Urges Appeals Court To Protect Access to Abortion Medication

BOSTON — In a continuation of her efforts to protect and uphold access to medication abortion, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell joined a multistate coalition in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, arguing that the decision issued by a district court judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas would do serious harm to Americans’ access to the medication abortion drug, mifepristone.

This amicus brief is part of AG Campbell’s ongoing fight to protect Massachusetts residents’ rights to privacy and access to reproductive healthcare, including medication abortion.

“Individuals should be able to make their own decisions regarding their healthcare, and should have access to the medications needed in that care – including abortion medication,”  said AG Campbell. “I am joining my colleagues  to urge the courts to reverse this callous and legally indefensible decision made by a single judge in Texas to withdraw mifepristone from the market, in spite of the decades of research, evidence, and continued usage demonstrating its safety and effectiveness.”

The amicus brief filed by a coalition of 24 attorneys general in the case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, argues that the FDA’s determination that the medication abortion drug mifepristone is safe and effective is supported by an overwhelming medical consensus developed over more than two decades of use. The coalition also argues that the FDA’s subsequent regulatory actions, including authorizing the generic version of mifepristone, permitting qualified clinicians other than physicians to authorize its usage, and enabling its distribution by mail, are all backed by solid evidence and research. The coalition also points out that the district court’s decision, if permitted to stand, would undermine the integrity of the FDA’s approval process and potentially jeopardize other thousands of other drugs—from contraception, to vaccines and diabetes treatments.

The coalition urges the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to reverse the lower court’s preliminary injunction ruling and notes that if it is allowed to stand, it will harm millions of Americans, with underserved groups, including women of color, low-income women, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ individuals, being hardest hit.  

AG Campbell’s participation in this appeal is part of her unwavering commitment to preserving the right to reproductive care. Last month, AG Campbell joined a multistate coalition in issuing an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court, urging them to issue a stay, or halt on taking further actions, pending an appeal in the case Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA. The Supreme Court has since ordered that mifepristone must remain available broadly as litigation plays out in the lower courts. Additionally, within her first few weeks in office, AG Campbell launched a confidential abortion legal advice hotline, which serves as a free, confidential resource for anyone seeking to provide or receive abortion care in Massachusetts, in partnership Reproductive Equity Now, Women’s Bar Foundation, and the ACLU of Massachusetts. , which serves as a free, confidential resource for anyone seeking to provide or receive abortion care in Massachusetts, in partnership Reproductive Equity Now, Women’s Bar Foundation, and the ACLU of Massachusetts.

Joining AG Campbell in filing today’s amicus brief, which was led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. 

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