Larsen defends reproductive health care

||| FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN |||

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) joined more than 250 House and Senate Democrats in filing an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn a Fifth Circuit decision that would restrict access to mifepristone by reinstating a requirement that the drug be dispensed in person. Last week, the Fifth Circuit blocked access to mifepristone nationwide at retail pharmacies and in the mail, prompting the Supreme Court to temporarily restore access to the medication while the case proceeds on its emergency docket.

The lawmakers argued that mifepristone already undergoes a rigorous Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process, and the medication has repeatedly been found to be safe and effective. The Fifth Circuit’s decision not only limits who is able to receive this vital and life-saving medication, putting lives at risk, but also undermines the evidence-based decision-making process at the FDA.

“For more than a quarter century, FDA has repeatedly and consistently affirmed that mifepristone is safe. Over seven million patients in the U.S. have safely used mifepristone. And as with other drugs, FDA continues to monitor the post-marketing safety data on mifepristone—data confirming that mifepristone is safe without regard to how it is dispensed,” the members wrote.

The lawmakers also argued that the Fifth Circuit ruling last week was clearly not based on the merits of the distribution method of mifepristone, or the scientific backing of the medication, but rather a desire to limit the ability of individuals to receive abortion medication. The emergency stay is necessary to ensure that Louisiana is not able to deny medically appropriate care to patients nationwide.

“Decades after FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone and years after the in-person dispensing requirement was eliminated, the Fifth Circuit on an ‘emergency’ basis ordered FDA to re-impose this onerous nationwide restriction on all Americans. Allowing that decision to remain in place undermines the science-based statutory framework Congress commands and threatens patient access to reproductive health care,” the members continued. “As has been well publicized, many U.S. residents in states where abortion is legal live far from any reproductive health care provider. Reinstating an in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone exacerbates an already significant reproductive health crisis by limiting access to the most common method of early abortion.”

First approved in 2000 after extensive clinical trials and peer-reviewed research, mifepristone has been shown to be safe and effective for over 25 years. The medication is used in roughly 60 percent of abortions nationwide, and about 1 in 4 abortion patients use telemedicine to receive abortion care.

In the House, the brief was signed by 212 Democratic U.S. Representatives. In the Senate, the amicus brief was signed by all 47 Democratic U.S. Senators. The lawmakers’ amicus brief to the Supreme Court can be read in full HERE.

Larsen Fights for the Right to Choose, Reproductive Health Care

Rep. Larsen is a champion of ensuring access to abortion and reproductive health care nationwide. Larsen supports suspending the filibuster to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, which re-establishes a nationwide right to abortion and enshrines the protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law. He also supports protecting a doctor’s ability to prescribe medication abortion via telehealth to reach patients across the country, including in rural communities, and protecting a woman’s right to travel across state lines to receive abortion care.