U.S. Repro Watch, April 12

“U.S. Repro Watch” provides periodic updates on news of interest on U.S. reproductive rights. Here are six recent items you won’t want to miss:

1. A federal court in Texas attempted to block the long-standing FDA approval of mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortion.

• If allowed to take effect, the April 7 ruling could gravely limit access to abortion care across the country—including in states where abortion is protected.
• The ruling came in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, a lawsuit filed by anti-abortion advocates challenging the FDA’s initial approval of the drug.
• The ruling by the Texas court, which was set to take effect on April 14, was appealed by the U.S. Department of Justice on April 10.  
• In the U.S., medication abortion is the most commonly used method of abortion, accounting for more than half of all abortions. Mifepristone is part of a two-drug regimen. 

2. In Idaho, healthcare providers filed a lawsuit against the state attorney general to protect access to information about out-of-state abortion care.

• The federal lawsuit challenges Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s interpretation that the state’s total abortion ban prohibits healthcare providers from referring patients out of state for abortion care.
• Plaintiffs argue that Labrador’s opinion violates the constitutional right to free speech, as well as the constitutional provisions of due process and the Commerce Clause.
• The lawsuit comes after the Idaho Governor signed a new law that prohibits people from helping minors access abortion out of state.

3. Abortion rights advocates asked a state court to block a Utah law that bans the operation of abortion clinics in the state.

• The new law restricts the provision of abortion care to hospitals starting May 3 and bans the operation of clinics entirely starting January 2024, even as abortion remains legal in the state.
• Since most abortions in Utah are provided by abortion clinics, plaintiffs argue that the law essentially bans abortion and violates state constitutional rights, including privacy and bodily integrity.
• Utah also has a trigger ban on the books, which has been blocked while litigation proceeds.

4. Multiple states are moving to further protect abortion access.

• Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer repealed the state’s 1931 abortion ban.
• The New Mexico Supreme Court blocked local anti-abortion ordinances, agreeing to hear a case that argues such efforts violate the state constitution.
• Washington Gov. Jay Inslee annoucned that the state has purchased a three-year supply of the abortion pill mifepristone in light of the ongoing lawsuit threatening to end access to medication abortion nationwide.
• Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey also announced that the state is stockpiling about a year’s worth of the abortion drug to preserve the state’s supply.

5. A coalition of over 20 state attorneys general urged the Biden Administration to protect access to contraception.

• The attorneys general highlighted the importance of expanding access to contraception in a letter responding to a proposed rule by the Biden Administration.
• In February, the Biden Administration proposed eliminating a rule under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that allowed employers to deny birth control coverage based on moral grounds. They also recommended creating a pathway for individuals without such coverage to access birth control at no cost.
• The attorneys general applauded these efforts and recommended additional steps, including narrowing the contraceptive coverage rule’s broad religious exemption and raising awareness of people’s options to access contraception.

6. This week is Black Maternal Health Week (April 11–17).

• Black Maternal Health Week, a campaign founded and led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, aims to build awareness around racial inequities in maternal health outcomes in the United States.
• Learn more about Black maternal health in the U.S. in this Q&A with Breana Lipscomb, the Center’s Senior Advisor for Maternal Health & Rights.

Soon after Roe fell, the American Psychological Association expressed concern that the court’s ruling would “exacerbate the mental health crisis America is already experiencing.”

A new study in JAMA Network Open reveals that women’s mental health has indeed worsened since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Findings show a statistically significant increase—approximately 10%—in mental distress after the decision among women living in states where abortion is now banned or restricted. Researchers also note that the mental health outcomes associated with restricting abortion may affect all women of reproductive age, not only those who have been denied an abortion.