The fight over medication abortion escalates

Center professionals are frequently quoted on reproductive rights issues in media outlets across the globe. Read recent articles focused on the escalating fight over medication abortion, the South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision protecting the right to abortion, and more.

“The fight over medication abortion continues to escalate. What to watch for in 2023,” Yahoo News, 01.06.23

• Senior Staff Attorney Jenny Ma was interviewed for a Yahoo News piece on the Department of Justice’s announcement that the U.S. Postal Service can legally deliver prescribed abortion medication. The announcement follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s decision to lift the in-person dispensing requirement for the abortion medication mifepristone.
• Ma said mifepristone “is truly unique to no other drug. The FDA is a federal agency that is empowered to regulate, to study, to review all of the medical evidence about drugs and decide what is right for Americans. Because medication abortion is so politicized, it has kind of been this outlier.”
• “Medication abortion care still remains subject to abortion bans, and many of them are medically unnecessary restrictions in so many states. So the FDA’s decision, unfortunately, will not have an impact on them,” Ma added. “But I think what it truly does is it really highlights that Americans should not be receiving different types of health care based on where they live. None of these bans on medication has a basis in science. It’s purely political.”

“New US rule on abortion pills: What changes?” France24, 01.08.23

• France24 reported on the practical impacts of the FDA’s decision to lift the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone.
• Senior Staff Attorney Jenny Ma is quoted: “That’s going to help tremendously people who live in rural communities,” Ma said, particularly those “who might not be able to afford the travel costs.”
• “[The new system] destigmatizes abortion care; it makes it more similar to any other comparable drug,” Ma said.

“The new front in the right’s war on abortion,” Vox, 01.09.23

• Vox reported how abortion pills are at the heart of the fight over abortion access in the post-Roe world, with opponents of abortion increasingly focused on restricting access to the medicaton.
• Senior Staff Attorney Jenny Ma is quoted: “Anti-abortion advocates are throwing the kitchen sink in an attempt to see what might work. That’s the same playbook the anti-abortion movement had before Dobbs … but they’ve become emboldened.”

“U.S. Anti-Abortion Activists Are Spreading Clinic Protests Around the World,” The New Republic, 01.09.23

• The New Republic reported on the growing popularity of clinic protests among anti-abortion advocates worldwide. Historically a favorite tactic of U.S. anti-abortion activists, clinic pickets are becoming increasingly common in countries such as the U.K., Canada, and Croatia.
• Senior Legal Adviser Cristina Rosero is quoted, pointing out that these pickets cause many health care professionals to experience mental health problems “because they are constantly being harassed when they go in and out of the clinic.”

“SC Court Permanently Blocks Abortion Ban,” The Root, 01.06.23

• The Root reported on the ruling by the South Carolina Supreme Court throwing out the state’s six-week abortion ban as a violation of the state constitution’s right to privacy. The ruling, which came in a case brought by the Center and its partners, allows doctors to continue providing abortion care to patients beyond the earliest stages of pregnancy.
• President and CEO Nancy Northup is quoted: “We know that lawmakers will double down on their relentless efforts to restrict essential health care,” Northup said, “but we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to restore abortion access across the country once and for all.”

“Does South Carolina’s decision protecting abortion mean other states will follow?” Yahoo News, 01.11.23

• Yahoo News reported on the South Carolina Supreme Court ruling throwing out the state’s six-week abortion ban and the possibility that other states may follow South Carolina’s example. The Center was among the group of litigators that represented plaintiffs in the South Carolina decision.
• Senior Counsel Genevieve Scott is quoted: “[The decision is] building on a body of jurisprudence throughout the country, holding that state constitutions do in fact recognize and independently protect abortion rights, which is absolutely crucial without federal protection.”
• “This is such a momentous ruling, because so many of the states surrounding South Carolina are restrictive states, and already we have seen an enormous number of patients flowing in from those states,” Scott said. “What this means is that people who are able to afford to be able to travel will be able to access care.”

“SC High Court Overturns State’s 6-Week Abortion Ban,” Giddy, 01.12.23

• Giddy reported on the South Carolina Supreme Court ruling throwing out the state’s six-week abortion ban.
• President and CEO Nancy Northup is quoted: “The court justly rejected this insidious attempt to take away South Carolinians’ fundamental rights under the state’s constitution,” Northup said. “These radical bans have wreaked havoc across the South and Midwest, but today’s decision means that the right to make deeply personal healthcare decisions will remain protected in South Carolina, an immense victory for South Carolinians and the entire region.”