California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued the following statement on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’s ruling in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine et al. v. FDA et al., ordering the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to suspend its decades-old approval of mifepristone for use in medication abortion: “Today is another chapter in a very dark period of American history,” said Attorney General Bonta. “This decision by the court is unconscionable and unprecedented. For more than 20 years, mifepristone has been a lifeline for people in need of critical, and sometimes lifesaving, care. Access to this medication has empowered pregnant people to make the choices they want for their body, their health, and their future. Today, we see another radical court attempt to strip away that power from millions of Americans. This hurts us all — but especially people of color and people in states that have banned abortion. Let me be clear: in California, we will not back down from the fight to protect reproductive freedom. I will continue doing everything in my power to ensure that our state remains a safe haven for all those seeking, supporting, and providing reproductive care.” On November 18, 2022, a group of plaintiffs led by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, seeking a preliminary injunction that would force the FDA to rescind or suspend its approval of mifepristone. On February 10, Attorney General Bonta and 21 other attorneys general across the country joined together to file an amicus brief opposing the lawsuit. Today, the Texas court granted the preliminary injunction, ordering the FDA to stay its 23-year-old approval of mifepristone, but pausing its order for seven days to allow the Biden Administration to appeal. The California Department of Justice stands ready to support the Biden Administration in any such appeal. A court in the Eastern District of Washington simultaneously released an order barring the FDA from “altering the status quo and rights as it relates to the availability of Mifepristone … in Plaintiff States.” Abortion remains legal, safe, and accessible in California. As a reproductive freedom state, California stands by patients and providers in their continued access to medication abortion. Mifepristone is a safe, effective medication widely used in the treatment of a range of healthcare issues, including for abortions and the treatment of miscarriages. Even if mifepristone becomes more difficult to access because of this decision, misoprostol-only abortions are likewise safe and effective. The court’s injunction did not impact the FDA’s approval of misoprostol. Studies show that medication abortion allows people to get reproductive care as early as possible when it is safest, least expensive, and least invasive, and plays an important role in reducing barriers and promoting equitable access to healthcare, particularly for those who live in rural and underserved communities. California has taken a number of steps to protect patients who seek access to this critical, time-sensitive care and the providers and others that help patients obtain abortion care. The court’s decision does not change these protections:
- Proposition 1 reaffirmed our state constitutional protections for the right to choose an abortion – this includes the right to choose medication abortion.
- AB 1242 still ensures that law enforcement and the tech industry do not cooperate with other states’ efforts to criminalize abortion care.
- AB 1666 still bars enforcement of out-of-state civil anti-abortion actions against anyone who receives or seeks, performs or induces, or aids someone in obtaining an abortion.
- AB 2091 still protects abortion records in California from access by out-of-state law enforcement agencies and other third-parties.
- AB 2626 still prohibits licensing boards from suspending, revoking, or denying a healthcare provider’s license solely for performing an abortion that is lawful in California in accordance with the licensee’s practice act.
- AB 2223 still ensures that no one in California will be investigated, prosecuted, or incarcerated for ending their pregnancy or experiencing pregnancy loss.
- Executive Order N-12-22 still prohibits California law enforcement from cooperating with out-of-state agencies to extradite anyone seeking, providing, or assisting with access to reproductive healthcare services, including abortion, in California.
- Providers in California still have the right to advise their patients about all safe and effective medication abortion options, including, but not limited to, mifepristone and/or misoprostol-only abortions.
Original source can be found here.