Planned Parenthood of Michigan Statement Following Today’s SCOTUS Ruling on Mifepristone Abortion Pill

Mifepristone remains accessible as a safe and effective method for abortion

LANSING, Mich. – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a group of anti-abortion physicians does not have standing to challenge the FDA’s actions related to the approval of mifepristone. Mifepristone will remain on the market and accessible in states where abortion is legal. However, this attack on medication abortion could continue, as the case will be sent back down to federal district court judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who has already allowed the states of Kansas, Missouri, and Idaho to intervene in the case. 

Mifepristone is one of two medications commonly prescribed for medication abortion, which now accounts for over 60 percent of abortions nationwide. It has a 99 percent safety record and has been used by over 5 million people to safely and effectively end their pregnancies since it was first approved by the FDA in 2000.

Statement from Paula Thornton Greear, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Michigan:

“While we are relieved that our patients will be able to continue accessing mifepristone for their medication abortions, let’s be clear: we should not be celebrating this decision. Our patients should not have to hold their breath every June, waiting to see whether yet another bogus court case will further diminish their reproductive freedoms. Our fight to protect and expand access to sexual and reproductive care here in Michigan and across the country is not over. We are still awaiting another Supreme Court ruling that will determine whether patients in states where abortion is banned can access lifesaving emergency medical care. And we know that this will not be the last time that reproductive freedom will be on their docket. Abortion opponents know they cannot win in the court of public opinion — as we saw here in Michigan with the overwhelming support of Proposal 3 in 2022 — so they’ll keep trying to use the courts or any new tactic they can cook up to try taking away our reproductive freedoms.”

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon issue an opinion on Idaho and Moyle, et al. v. United States, which questions whether emergency rooms must provide stabilizing emergency care — including abortion — to every person who comes through their doors under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). The state of Idaho claims that their state’s abortion ban means they can ignore EMTALA. If the U.S. Supreme Court allows states to ignore EMTALA, state abortion bans would force ER doctors to refuse treatment to pregnant people in medical emergencies — letting them suffer serious complications and even die.

Statement from Dr. Sarah Wallett, Chief Medical Operating Officer for Planned Parenthood of Michigan:

“I am appalled by the ongoing efforts by anti-abortion groups to weaponize the courts to interfere with personal medical decisions that should only be made between patients and their medical providers. Patients suffer when their health care is politicized by those who want to impose their personal beliefs on the rest of us. Every person deserves the freedom to make decisions that affect their health, families, and futures without interference.”

###

Planned Parenthood offers affordable reproductive health care for all people through medical services, education and advocacy and is the nation’s leading sexual and reproductive health care advocate and provider. Planned Parenthood of Michigan operates health centers across the state, providing medical services and sexuality education for nearly 60,000 Michiganders each year.