Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown issued the following statement on almost simultaneous abortion medication decisions by U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Washington.
The Texas Court suspended the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, an abortion medication that was approved over twenty years ago and has been used safely and effectively ever since. However, in a case brought by Maryland and several other states, the Washington Court ruled that access to mifepristone must be preserved pending the outcome of the litigation.
In light of both rulings, what Marylanders need to know is that access to this drug remains intact in our state for the time being.
Statement from Attorney General Anthony G. Brown:
“The decision of the Texas Court is an attack on reproductive freedom. Its impact, which effectively puts on hold the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, will endanger the health of millions. Mifepristone has helped ease access for decades to abortion services critical to the health and safety of individuals across Maryland and the country.
If the Texas Court’s ruling were allowed to stand, its harmful impact will fall disproportionately on those already facing barriers to abortion access. It will increase inequities and lead to poor outcomes for people with fewer resources.”
“Thankfully, even as the ruling in Texas threatened reproductive freedom, the Court in our case in the Eastern District of Washington preserved access to mifepristone in Maryland and the other states that joined the lawsuit. This battle is not over in either case, but we will not back down in this critical fight to ensure access to reproductive healthcare. As Maryland’s General Assembly has taken historic action to enshrine reproductive freedom in our State’s Constitution, so too will we battle in the courts to preserve access to the medications that make that freedom meaningful.”
“Tonight, mifepristone remains available in Maryland. We will continue working to protect this
access and every individual’s right to choose.”
