Planned Parenthood Federation of America

A few weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an attempt by an anti-abortion group to cut off access to mifepristone, a safe and effective abortion medication. In no time at all, headlines and social media posts were popping up with incorrect information about mifepristone and the court case.

Some of the false conclusions came from simple misunderstandings — our legal system is complicated, and it's easy to get the details wrong. But some is straight-up misinformation spread by people who want to block abortion access to patients who need care.

So let's get a couple of things straight.

Mifepristone is a safe, effective, and common medicine.

This was never really in doubt. The FDA approved mifepristone more than 20 years ago, and millions of people use it for abortion and managed miscarriage.

The attacks on mifepristone are about making it harder for people to get abortion care — plain and simple.

The legal attacks on mifepristone are not over.

This decision does not rule out future threats to medication abortion. The court threw out the particular plaintiffs in this lawsuit. That's because the plaintiffs, meaning the people who sued to block mifepristone access, aren't directly affected by the drug and they don't have legal standing for their case. But the story is far from over.

Several states that ban abortion are currently part of the same lawsuit, and they will do everything they can to keep the lawsuit alive. So lawsuits against this safe and effective medicine could continue — and we need to keep rising up and speaking out to protect access.

The U.S. Supreme Court remains a serious threat to abortion access.

Make no mistake: The mifepristone ruling does not mean that the Supreme Court has become less hostile to abortion. It is the same court with the same justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed abortion bans to spread from state to state. These are the same justices who refused to say that federal law protects pregnant patients' access to emergency abortion care across the country. We can't rely on this court to protect our fundamental rights or access to basic health care.

It's important to celebrate wins for reproductive rights, and the Supreme Court ruling on mifepristone certainly counts. Protecting access to abortion medication for millions of people is a big, big deal.

But the truth is, the lawsuit never should have gotten as far as it did, and state abortion bans and restrictions continue to block patients from the care they need. We still have a long way to go to protect and expand access to mifepristone and other basic health care. I'm glad you're with us for the work ahead.

Sincerely,

Jacqueline Ayers, Senior Vice President of Policy, Campaigns, Advocacy
Planned Parenthood Federation of America

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