Source: WRAL, News & Observer
Days following a Texas federal judge’s ruling to overturn the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s approval of the abortion pill, mifepristone, North Carolina’s Attorney General Josh Stein is joining other states fighting back against the controversial decision.
“Abortion is a deeply personal decision and is an issue that people have wide-ranging opinions. But, ultimately, that’s a decision that women should have the freedom to make for themselves,” said Attorney General Josh Stein in a press release. “And that’s why I’m in court fighting to ensure women can continue to access this medication.”
In coalition, Attorney General Stein and 24 attorneys are urging the court to stop the Texas district court ruling from taking effect while an appeal is ongoing. If the ruling goes into effect, the decision would erase access from the FDA’s 23-year approval of the medication abortion pill.
“Medication abortion is safe and effective, and has been for decades,” said Attorney General Josh Stein in a statement. “The medication is safer than Tylenol or Viagra. This judge’s decision is wrong on every level, and it takes away safe medical care for women, putting their health at risk. I’m in court fighting for women’s reproductive freedom, so women in North Carolina can make decisions about their own bodies.”
Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade by the conservative-leaning Supreme Court, the latest overturn of the pill would further reduce access to safe reproductive health care for millions.
According to a study by the Guttmacher Institute, medication abortion accounted for more than 53 percent of all abortions in the U.S. in 2020. Preliminary data from 2022, indicated that medication abortion accounted for 54 percent of all abortions last year.
All kinds of people access abortion, and they’re not making political decisions when they are accessing abortion. They are thinking about what is best for them and their lives,” stated Tara Romano, executive director for Pro-Choice North Carolina.
Over 300 biotech and pharmaceutical industry executives have signed an open letter, calling for the reversal of Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s attempt to overturn the FDA-approved pill, with one CEO calling the ruling “a nightmare scenario.”
“The 5th Circuit’s decision—just like the district court’s—second-guesses the agency’s medical experts,” said Vice President Kamala Harris in a statement. “If this decision stands, no medication—from chemotherapy drugs, to asthma medicine, to blood pressure pills, to insulin—would be safe from attacks.”
