Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced Wednesday his support of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to extend a stay of legal medication abortion until 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 21. The extension follows a U.S. district court judge’s decision to halt the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.
First approved by the FDA in 2000, mifepristone “has passed subsequent reviews [and] has been particularly critical in providing access to safe abortion care in low-income, underserved, and rural communities,” according to the Office of the Attorney General.
The FDA allows for mifepristone to be taken through 10 weeks into a pregnancy, according to their website. Current estimates say that more than half of all abortions in the United States involve medication abortion.
According to the FDA, mifepristone is safe to use for medical termination of pregnancy.
“Mifepristone is safe when used as indicated and directed and consistent with the Mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Program,” the FDA says. “…Periodic reviews of the postmarketing data for Mifeprex and its approved generic have not identified any new safety concerns with the use of mifepristone for medical termination of pregnancy through 70 days gestation.”
Attorney General Tong joined a multi-state coalition last week, before the extension was granted, to fight the decision to block mifepristone access.
“Revoking federal approval for mifepristone will drastically reduce access to safe abortion care and miscarriage management for millions of people across the country and needlessly endanger lives,” Tong said Monday, April 10. “This decision has zero basis in science or the law, which is why we are going to keep fighting for the women and patients under attack by this radical, dangerous decision.”
The coalition includes the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.
Tong emphasized his passion to continue the fight for the preservation of safe, legal medication abortion. He also confirmed that medication abortion remains available and accessible in the state of Connecticut.
“Here in Connecticut, medication abortion remains available and accessible, and I am fighting in multiple courts alongside attorneys general across the country to make sure it stays that way,” Tong said Wednesday. “Radical partisan politicians need to get the hell out of our doctors’ offices.”
Tong also issued a formal opinion to Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont last Friday, reiterating the fact that mifepristone remains FDA-approved in Connecticut under the REMS program. The full formal opinion can be found here.
