Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump-appointed federal judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, has issued a ruling to stay the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortions. Medication abortions consist of two medications, mifepristone, which blocks the body’s production of progesterone, stopping the pregnancy from progressing, and misoprostol, which causes the uterus to expel the aborted material.
“In Colorado, your right to medical abortion is protected because we trust people to make their own medical decisions – without governmental or judicial interference,” said House Majority Leader Rep. Monica Duran (D-Wheatridge) in a news release. “The decision by one federal judge to overturn the FDA’s scientifically backed approval of mifepristone is mounted in misinformation. This will not stop abortion – it will only limit access to safe medication based abortion. But here, in Colorado, Democrats are committed to defending your right to reproductive health care. When we passed the Reproductive Health Equity Act, we knew the fight wasn’t over to protect access to safe abortion. With the Safe Access to Protected Health Care package, we’re prioritizing patients and providers, stopping the spread of deceptive advertising by anti-abortion centers, and reducing health care gaps in reproductive and gender affirming care. We will never let GOP politicians weaken, limit or flat-out ban access to reproductive healthcare in Colorado.”
Rep. Lindsey Daugherty (D-Arvada), chair of the House Health and Insurance Committee, called the move a gross overreach. “This decision by a Trump-appointed judge will gut access to safe, effective abortion across the country and is yet another attack on our fundamental reproductive freedoms,” she said in a news release. “To be clear, this ruling is not founded in science or medical evidence – it is a Republican-led attempt to restrict access to FDA-approved abortion medication. This gross overreach of power imperils the lives of those seeking an abortion and threatens the health, economic security and freedom of millions of Americans. By restricting access to this medication, GOP-appointed judges and courts are putting their anti-abortion ideations above science. In February, Democrats on the House Health & Insurance Committee defeated three anti-abortion bills that would have banned safe, legal abortion and spread dangerous misinformation about reproductive health care. While this decision is a setback in achieving reproductive freedom for all, Colorado Democrats will always fight to protect and uphold your fundamental right to reproductive health care, including abortion.”
Dr. Jack Resneck Jr., president of the American Medical Association, questioned the decision to remove FDA approval of mifepristone. “Today’s court decision from a federal district court in Texas staying longstanding approval of mifepristone flies in the face of science and evidence and threatens to upend access to a safe and effective drug that has been used by millions of people for more than 20 years,” he said in an emailed statement. “The court’s disregard for well-established scientific facts in favor of speculative allegations and ideological assertions will cause harm to our patients and undermines the health of the nation. By rejecting medical facts, the court has intruded into the exam room and has intervened in decisions that belong to patients and physicians. The court’s rebuff of scientific facts also undermines informed decisions, erodes trust in institutions, exacerbates social divides, and places individual and collective health at risk.”
Abortion advocates say the ruling will exacerbate the existing health care crisis caused by the Dobbs decision. “This decision is devastating and compounds the public health crisis created after Roe was overturned,” said Taylor Pendergrass, Director of Advocacy and Strategic Alliances at the ACLU of Colorado in a news release. “Anti-abortion extremists are using the courts, statehouses, and all means possible to accomplish their agenda. They will not stop until the government bans abortion and controls our reproductive health care. We’re calling on the courts to dismiss this case because it lacks merit and undermines our freedoms. We’ll keep fighting to make sure that anyone can access to abortion, because abortion is essential healthcare.”
Karen Middleton, President of Cobalt, an abortion advocacy nonprofit, has seen an increased demand from out of state patients in Colorado. “This decision is an attack on people seeking abortion care and pro-abortion rights states like Colorado,” she said in a news release. “It amounts to [U.S. Sen.] Mitch McConnell [R-KY] getting a national abortion ban through the courts that he can’t get through Congress. It puts extremist politics above science and medicine. With Roe overturned, Colorado has seen a flood of patients coming here for abortion care. Our Cobalt Abortion Fund has exponentially increased both procedure and practical support for anyone who needs an abortion and comes to us for help. Paying for medication abortion has been a critical part of that. Abortion is health care. We will continue to support and advocate for patients who need abortion care in Colorado.”
Thomas Rice, a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, has issued a contradictory ruling in a lawsuit brought by several states, including Colorado, against the FDA. Rice’s ruling prevents the FDA from “altering the status quo and rights as it relates to the availability of Mifepristone under the current operative January 2023 Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy.”
In February, U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper introduced The Protecting Access to Medication Abortion Act, which would allow patients to continue to access medication via telehealth and allow pharmacies to continue to dispense and mail the medication to patients. Similar to Rice’s ruling, the bill would also codify the current mifepristone FDA Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy to ensure access for patients.
