Today, the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Washington issued a decision in a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that is counter to a Texas federal court’s decision in Alliance of Hippocratic Medicine vs. the Food and Drug Administration.
Dr. Jamila Perritt, ob/gyn in Washington DC and President & CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health responds:
“As an anti-abortion extremist judge in Texas attempts to ban mifepristone, a safe and effective medication used in abortions, Judge Thomas Rice in Washington State has followed the law and science in blocking the FDA from “altering the status quo” regarding mifepristone in the plaintiff states of Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania.
“It is clear that we have a long legal fight ahead of us that we should never have had to face at all. Medication abortion has been supported for decades by scientific and medical evidence and experts. Any attempts to restrict it are not based on facts, but instead in anti-abortion rhetoric and the desire to limit the ability of people to make personal decisions about abortion.
“Abortion care is an essential pillar of reproductive health care. For many marginalized communities, including Black, Indigenous, people of color, young people, and LGBTQ+ folks, access to abortion has been blocked by several barriers. Rulings such as the one from Judge Rice are a step toward protecting our communities’ rights to bodily autonomy and the full spectrum of reproductive health care.
“We know that abortion is safe and a basic human right. Patients, providers, and advocates will continue to show up for each other and ensure that people are able to access the health care that they need – in clinics, at abortion funds, and in the courts. PRH’s community of nearly 500 physician advocates centers compassion, evidence, and trust in their patients in the health care that they provide. We commend Judge Rice’s ruling as we continue to fight and provide care to our communities.”