Here's what you need to know about Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the fight for abortion access.
On Nov. 18, 2022, abortion opponents filed a federal lawsuit (Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration) to ask the court to force the FDA to withdraw the approval of mifepristone, a medication that’s been used safely and effectively in half the abortions in the United States over the past 20 years.
The case was brought by extreme anti-abortion groups to a hand-selected, radical Trump-appointed judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, as part of a larger campaign to ban abortion entirely nationwide. On April 7, Judge Kacsmaryk blocked the FDA’s approval of mifepristone.
The Department of Justice requested a stay of the order, but on Wednesday night, the Fifth Circuit only partially blocked the decision, ignoring the law and scientific research as much as Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling did.
By not fully blocking Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling, the Fifth Circuit ignored more than 100 studies demonstrating the safety and efficacy of mifepristone — relying on dubious anecdotes and junk science put forth by anti-abortion extremists.
It’s still unclear how the Fifth Circuit’s decision will impact health care providers and their patients seeking abortion and miscarriage care. Unless the Supreme Court steps in, this decision will prevent many people from getting abortion care and force them to remain pregnant against their will. The implications of this decision go far beyond abortion and have the potential to deny people access to other critical, life-saving drugs.
If you care about reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy it’s time to get engaged. Will you commit to being a defender of abortion rights in South Dakota? Add your name if you’re with us and we’ll be in touch!
DEFEND REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM NOW
Want to take your advocacy a step further? Download a copy of our Mife Case Fact Sheet (linked on this page, just scroll down!) and share it with your peers.
