The U.S. Supreme Court today unanimously rejected a request by anti-abortion groups to impose nationwide restrictions on mifepristone, a safe and effective medication used in almost two-thirds of abortions nationwide and also used for miscarriage care. The new ruling means that, for now, medication abortion access will remain unchanged.
The case has been roundly criticized by legal and medical experts alike because it so clearly lacks merit. Mifepristone’s safety and efficacy has been proven again and again by more than 100 scientific studies. More than five million people have safely and effectively used the medication since it was first approved almost a quarter-century ago.
Abortion remains legal and accessible in Massachusetts both under our state constitution and because the state legislature worked with the ACLU and other advocates to pass best-in-the-nation protections for abortion providers and patients.
People seeking or providing abortion care in Massachusetts can contact the Abortion Legal Hotline, a free and confidential resource to connect Massachusetts-based health care patients, providers, and helpers obtaining care in the state with free legal advice and resources about abortion access and care.
Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, issued the following statement in response to the decision by the Supreme Court:
“We are relieved that access to mifepristone remains unchanged for now; millions of people rely on this medication for abortion care and miscarriage treatment, and efforts to restrict access to it are not based on scientific evidence or best medical practice. People need the freedom to make health care decisions with their providers — without the interference of politicians or judges.
“While abortion remains protected in Massachusetts, we know that anti-abortion extremists won’t be stopped by this ruling; they are constantly devising new ways to criminalize abortion in every state and nationwide.
“This case should never have made it this far — and there is still one case before the Supreme Court that could allow hospitals to deny pregnant people emergency medical care. At the same time, politicians in some states are now trying to block peoples’ access to IVF and even birth control.
“This authoritarian agenda is deeply unpopular; the majority of Americans support the freedom to make personal decisions about when to start a family. Bodily integrity and reproductive rights matter to voters, who will go to the polls to vote their values. We can’t be complacent; our power to control our bodies and lives requires us to act.”
