For Immediate Release: April 21, 2023
Contact: Audrey Sandusky, asandusky@nfprha.org

Supreme Court Ruling Preserves Status Quo Access to Mifepristone 

Washington, DC – Tonight, the Supreme Court stayed a lower court ruling in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, pending the outcome of the appeals process in the lower courts. The case challenges the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortion. The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA): 

“Tonight’s ruling by the Supreme Court to stay the district court ruling ensures that, for now, mifepristone will remain available across the country, while the current appeals process plays out. While we are relieved that tonight’s action protects the current level of access to mifepristone that millions have relied on for years, we remain deeply troubled by the unrelenting attacks on abortion care by anti-abortion extremists who are intent on making abortion care impossible to access nationwide. The legal challenge against the FDA’s regulatory authority represents a stark departure from science and legal precedent and carries grave consequences for people in need of abortion care, particularly Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, LGBTQ people, people who are immigrants, and people with low incomes. 

“Abortion is essential health care and a fundamental right. As this case continues to move through the legal process, we strongly urge Congress and the Biden administration to find ways to protect reproductive rights by passing and enacting the Women’s Health Protection Act and Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Healthcare Act without delay.” 

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NFPRHA is a membership organization representing publicly funded family planning providers and administrators nationwide. NFPRHA advances and elevates the importance of family planning in the nation’s health care system and promotes and supports the work of family planning providers and administrators, especially those in the safety net. For more information, visit nationalfamilyplanning.org.