Governor Janet Mills and Attorney General Aaron Frey issued the following statements today on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision regarding mifepristone.
Last night, the Fifth Circuit granted a partial stay pending appeal of last week’s ruling by a Federal judge in Texas to suspend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of mifepristone, thereby allowing the medication to remain available. However, the Court temporarily suspended a series of measures the FDA has taken in recent years to make the drug more readily accessible. While mifepristone remains legal, actions taken by the FDA since 2016, such as allowing the medication to be used up through ten weeks of pregnancy and allowing the medication to be sent to patients by mail, were suspended by the Court.
The decision from the Court comes after the U.S. Department of Justice and a group of 24 state Attorneys General – including Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey – submitted filings asking the Fifth Circuit to pause the ruling while an appeal by the Federal government is considered, a move supported by Governor Mills.
“While I am relieved that mifepristone remains available, I am deeply disappointed that the Fifth Circuit permitted legally and scientifically baseless restrictions to go into effect. These restrictions, if applied in Maine, would only jeopardize the health and safety of women, particularly those in rural parts of our state, by limiting access to abortion medication,” said Governor Janet Mills. “While the Fifth Circuit continues its consideration of the Texas decision, my Administration is closely monitoring the Federal case in Washington. If that Judge reaffirms his ruling that mifepristone must remain available in the plaintiff states, including Maine, as I believe he should, then the restrictions imposed by the Fifth Circuit will not apply in Maine and access to mifepristone will remain fully legal and available as it should until a higher court says otherwise.”
“We know that mifepristone is being targeted because it is a safe and effective way to end a pregnancy. Despite references to the contrary, this ruling has no legal or scientific basis. The anti-choice movement is using the legal system and false concerns about safety to limit women’s reproductive choices, reaching into states like Maine where voters routinely endorse abortion access,”said Attorney General Frey. “We will await the Washington decision, knowing that everyday people across Maine and the country are reading the news to see whether they still retain rights to bodily autonomy.”
Last Friday, a Federal Judge for the Eastern District Court of Washington ruled that mifepristone must remain available and accessible. In response to his decision, the U.S. Department of Justice asked the Judge to clarify by this Friday how the FDA should respond to his order to keep the mifepristone on the market in more than a dozen states, including Maine. Attorney General Aaron Frey previously intervened in this suit to ensure that Maine was a party and would fully benefit from the Court’s ruling.
Should the judge reaffirm his ruling – either through clarification or dismissal of the FDA’s request – then his ruling will maintain access to mifepristone in Maine without the restrictions permitted by the Fifth Circuit, until and unless a higher court rules otherwise.
Since its approval in 2000, mifepristone has been used safely for abortion and miscarriage management and for other medical uses. It is currently used in half of all abortion procedures nationwide.