Senator Murray Statement Ahead of Oral Arguments in Case Before Supreme Court That Threatens to Restrict Access to Medication Abortion in All 50 States

ICYMI: Murray Leads Congressional Democrats in Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Reverse Dangerous Ruling That Would Restrict Access to Mifepristone Nationwide & Upend FDA Approval Process

New data shows medication abortion accounted for 63 percent of abortions in the U.S. last year—up 10 percent since 2020

Senador Murray: “This case threatens to not only rip away access to mifepristone in all 50 states and severely restrict access to the most common form of abortion care, but also to upend the science-based and expert-driven FDA approval process that Americans depend on for all manner of lifesaving drugs.”

Washington DC - Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee issued the following statement on oral arguments taking place tomorrow, March 26^th before the Supreme Court in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, a case that concerns the fate of mifepristone—a safe and effective medication that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000. Mifepristone is the first of two medications used in a medication abortion and it is also critical for miscarriage care. Medication abortion accounted for 63 percent of abortions in the U.S. last year—a 10 percent jump since 2020.

At issue before the Supreme Court is whether to uphold or reverse a decisión from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that would impose severe limitations on the availability of mifepristone nationwide. If the Supreme Court upholds the Fifth Circuit’s decision, it would immediately reinstate significant and medically unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone—including cutting off access to the medication through the mail, barring telemedicine prescriptions, and reinstating a seven-week limit on its use—even in states where abortion remains legal.

This would cause immense chaos and worsen the already dire landscape for reproductive health care in post-Dobbs America, where women in 21 states are subject to abortion bans, and uno en tres - uno de tres women of reproductive age cannot access abortion in their home state. The case also threatens to undermine the critical role of the FDA and upend the agency’s rigorous, Congressionally-mandated drug approval process for all kinds of critical medications—everything from cancer treatments to treatments for rare diseases to birth control. In January, Murray led 263 Members of Congress in presentación de un amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit’s decision that would override the FDA’s scientific judgment and dramatically curtail access to mifepristone.

“This case has nothing to do with the facts or science—it’s a blatant and meticulously planned attack by anti-choice extremists and Republicans who are doing everything they can to ban abortion nationwide despite the health care crisis brought on by the catastrophic Dobbs decision,” dijo el senador Murray. “This case threatens to not only rip away access to mifepristone in all 50 states and severely restrict access to the most common form of abortion care, but also to upend the science-based and expert-driven FDA approval process that Americans depend on for all manner of lifesaving drugs—everything from cancer treatments to diabetes medication to birth control. The Supreme Court must reject this politically motivated effort to undermine the FDA and impose severe, unnecessary restrictions on a medication women rely on for essential abortion care and miscarriage care.”

Senator Murray has been leading the response to this dangerous lawsuit in Congress from the beginning. An abbreviated timeline is below:

• April 7, 2023: Matthew Kacsmaryk, a federal district court judge in Texas, issues a decision attempting to halt the FDA’s original approval of mifepristone from the year 2000, as well as subsequent moves by the FDA to expand access to mifepristone, including in 2016 and 2021. Murray emphatically denounces the ruling in a press call the very next morning with Leader Schumer.
• April 11, 2023: Murray helps lead Congressional Democrats in filing an amicus brief before the Fifth Circuit urging a stay of Kacsmaryk’s ruling.
• April 12, 2023: The Fifth Circuit issues a ruling largely refusing to block the federal district court’s order and attempts to reinstate medically unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone that were lifted by the FDA in 2016 and 2021 while litigation continues. Murray slams the decision as an unprecedented assault on abortion rights and the FDA’s authority to do its job.
• April 14, 2023: Murray helps lead her colleagues in filing an amicus brief encouraging the Supreme Court to stay the lower court ruling.
• April 21, 2023: The Supreme Court grants a full stay of the lower court decision (following a previous temporary stay)—allowing mifepristone to remain on the market under its existing FDA approval while the merits of the case are under review. Murray issues a statement in response.
• August 16, 2023: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rules to reinstate burdensome and medically unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone that the FDA lifted years earlier, but not to remove the drug from the market altogether. Murray responds forcefully to the ruling. Because of the Supreme Court’s April 21 order, mifepristone will remain available under current regulations while the case continues.
• September 8, 2023: The U.S. Department of Justice asks the Supreme Court to review the Fifth Circuit’s August 16 ruling imposing severe restrictions on mifepristone.
• October 12, 2023: Murray leads 257 Members of Congress in filing an amicus breve urging the Supreme Court to review the case, arguing that FDA’s current approach to regulating mifepristone must be upheld.
• December 13, 2023: The U.S. Supreme Court agrees to review the case. Murray issues a statement in response.
• January 30, 2024: Murray leads 263 Members of Congress in presentación de un amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit’s decision that would override the FDA’s scientific judgment and dramatically curtail access to mifepristone.
• March 26, 2024: The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA. 

Senator Murray has always fought to make reproductive health care more accessible and affordable for women everywhere–beating back countless Republican attempts to defund Planned Parenthood and other family planning services a lo largo de su carrera, y se le atribuye ampliamente haber presionado con éxito a la administración Bush para que siguiera la ciencia y hiciera Plan B disponible en el mostrador.

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