NIRH Condemns Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for Harmful and Misguided Mifepristone Decision

Following the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ Needlessly Confusing and Deeply Flawed Ruling in Response to Last Week’s Federal Court Decision in Texas, NIRH Released the Below Statement:

“To say we are disappointed with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ late-night decision would be a dramatic understatement. Rather than rebuking last week’s dangerous, legally laughable, and politically motivated decision by Judge Kacsmaryk, the 5th Circuit has validated and emboldened attacks on a safe and effective medication abortion method with their own harmful and outrageous ruling. This decision is needlessly confusing and flies in the face of both scientific evidence and legal standards,” said Andrea Miller, President of National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) and NIRH Action Fund. “Because of the misguided actions of these politically motivated judges, unless the Supreme Court puts a stop to these rulings, the result could well be that Mifepristone will no longer be approved for those seeking medication abortions after seven weeks of pregnancy and outdated, medically unjustified barriers the FDA rightly lifted years ago will be reinstated by courts who have no business making these decisions. This will cause irreparable harm and significantly restrict access to a safe and effective method of medication abortion that millions of people have relied upon for over twenty years. 

“In this uncertain and incredibly stressful time for reproductive healthcare, NIRH and our partner colleagues remain more committed than ever before to doing all we can to ensure everyone has access to the abortion care they need, on their own terms, and in their own community,” Miller continued. We are grateful that the Justice Department has responded quickly and is asking the Supreme Court to intervene to protect access to this safe and effective form of abortion care. 

“We also call on state and local legislators, now more than ever, to double down on efforts to protect and expand equitable access to abortion care. We know the attacks against our bodily autonomy are nowhere near done, and neither are our efforts to fight back.”

###

The National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) and the National Institute for Reproductive Health Action Fund (NIRH Action Fund) are advocacy groups that fight to protect and advance access to just and equitable reproductive healthcare and build political power for reproductive freedom. We do this by working hand-in-hand with reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations in states and cities across the country to build coalitions, launch campaigns, change policy, and elect candidates who stand up for everyone’s right to control their reproductive lives. For more than four decades, our strategy has been to go on the offensive to pass laws that safeguard reproductive freedom. We work in communities where change is needed, so the fabric of reproductive freedom becomes harder to tea