NAACP Legal Defense Fund Amicus Brief in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA

Amicus is NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.

The NAACP LDF argues that the district court’s order fails to consider that Black families and low-income pregnant people have relied on access to medication abortion for decades. Instead, the court mistakenly presumed that pregnant people could easily seek procedural abortions, but this ignores the many challenges—including increased travel, wait times, and costs—that this method poses, particularly for Black and low-income pregnant people. The order also fails to account for state-imposed restrictions on procedural abortion and bans, which are prevalent in Southern and Midwestern states, where the majority of Black Americans live. NAACP LDF also argues that the district court’s order is contrary to the public interest as it will exacerbate existing racial and economic inequities in accessing essential healthcare, including abortion care. NAACP LDF also makes clear how offensive it is for a court to invoke the horrific history of eugenics to justify further intrusions on the bodily autonomy of Black people and other people of color.

This brief was one of many filed in support of the FDA in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA. For more information on the case, click here.