Team, some important updates—

Yesterday, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk held a hearing in Amarillo, Texas, on a case filed by anti-abortion extremists that has the potential to take abortion medication off the market nationwide—a move that would ban more than half of the abortions in the United States.

I traveled to Amarillo, along with my colleagues, to monitor the hearing on behalf of the many clinics across the country that the Center represents and advises. But Judge Kacsmaryk only allowed 19 members of the public into the courtroom, meaning that despite lining up hours in advance, we were denied entry.

Our fundamental rights SHOULD NOT be decided behind closed doors. We'll need your support as we continue to monitor this case and continue our work to protect and expand essential access to reproductive health care.

The outcome of this case could impact the entire country. The court should be making every effort possible to ensure the public has visibility into what is happening, but instead the opposite has happened.

This lawsuit is fundamentally flawed—it's wrong on the law; it's wrong on the science; and it's wrong on the facts. Medication abortion is safe and effective. Denying everyone in the U.S. the use of a safe and effective drug that has been used for 20+ years by 5 million people would only further the larger agenda of anti-abortion extremists to ban all abortion care nationwide.

This case has the potential to strip essential health care from millions, yet at every step, the court has made it harder for the press and the public to attend this hearing or gain insight into the case.

This case shouldn't be moving forward at all, but we'll continue to be here so long as your reproductive autonomy is on the line. Please, join us in this fight.

In solidarity,

Elisabeth Smith
Director, State Policy & Advocacy