Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey has joined twenty-three other governors in submitting an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) recent decisions to loosen restrictions on mifepristone — a drug used in medication abortions — to stand.
According to the FDA’s website, mifepristone “blocks a hormone called progesterone that is needed for a pregnancy to continue.”
“Mifepristone, when used together with another medicine called misoprostol, is used to end a pregnancy through ten weeks gestation,” the FDA explains.
Mifepristone was first approved by the FDA in 2000 for use in medication abortions up to seven weeks into a pregnancy. This time frame was extended to ten weeks in 2016.
In 2023, the FDA announced that it would make permanent a COVID-era policy lifting the requirement that mifepristone be administered to women in person at a clinic or hospital, or under the supervision of a certified medical professional.
The removal of this requirement allowed the abortion drug to be obtained by women at a retail pharmacy or through the mail via telemedicine.
The Fifth Circuit’s ruling in this case, if upheld, would roll back the 2016 and 2023 expansions, meaning that once again, prescription would only be allowed through seven weeks of pregnancy and in-person administration of the abortion drug would be required.
“Anti-abortion activists have claimed in overturning Roe that abortion is an issue best left to the states, but they continue to attempt to restrict access for the entire country,” Attorney General Frey said in a statement. “There is no medically justified reason for the higher burden placed on people trying to obtain mifepristone.”
Click Here to Read Attorney General Frey’s Full Press Release
The amicus brief of the attorneys general argues that reintroducing these restrictions on medication abortion would “effectively turn back the clock to a time when medication abortion was significantly more difficult to access than procedural abortion, with widespread adverse implications for individuals and the health care system as a whole.”
“Reinstating these obstacles to obtaining medication abortion could result in more unwanted surgical procedures, increase travel and waiting times to obtain care, and push abortions to later in pregnancy, driving up both costs and medical risks,” the amicus brief contends.
“The FDA’s lifting of medically unnecessary restrictions has enabled many amici States to promote access to medication abortion in previously under-served areas, greatly benefiting their residents, reducing costs and strains on health systems, and furthering health equity goals,” the brief argues.
Click Here to Read the Full Amicus Brief Filed By the Attorneys General
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) — the law firm representing the respondents in this case — released a statement last Wednesday urging the Supreme Court to “hold the FDA accountable and require the agency to reinstate its safety standards.”
“Women and girls should have the ongoing care of a doctor when taking high-risk drugs,” ADF Senior Counsel Erin Hawley said. “But the Biden administration is defending the FDA’s reckless removal of the safety standards it originally deemed necessary for women who use abortion drugs.”
“The FDA’s own label for these drugs says that roughly one in 25 women who take them will end up in the emergency room,” Hawley said. “The agency’s removal of in-person doctor visits and consistent, ongoing care has subjected more women to suffering severe, even life-threatening, medical conditions.”
“Regardless of Americans’ beliefs about abortion, no one should be okay with the FDA leaving girls to take these high-risk drugs all alone,” Hawley concluded. “We urge the Supreme Court to hold the FDA accountable and require the agency to reinstate its safety standards.”
Frey’s decision to sign onto this amicus brief comes amidst an ongoing debate in Augusta over a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would enshrine a right to abortion access.
If approved, the proposed amendment would declare that “every person has a right to reproductive autonomy” that may not be “den[ied] or infringe[d]” upon by the “State nor any political subdivision of the State.”
The full amendment reads:
Every person has a right to reproductive autonomy. Neither the State nor any political subdivision of the State may not deny or infringe a person’s right to reproductive autonomy unless the denial or infringement is justified by a compelling state interest and is accomplished using the least restrictive means necessary. Nothing in this section narrows or limits a person’s right to privacy or equal protection.
For purposes of this section, the State’s or political subdivision’s interest in denying or infringing a person’s right to reproductive autonomy is “compelling” only if it is for the limited purpose of protecting the health of the individual seeking care, is consistent with accepted clinical standards of practice and evidence-based medicine and does not infringe on that person’s autonomous decision-making.
[RELATED: Mainers Gather for Public Hearing on Amendment Enshrining Abortion in State Constitution]
That same day — less than a year after she signed legislation permitting late-term abortions in the state — Gov. Janet Mills (D) came out in support of the amendment.
Gov. Mills has vocally backed these measures despite promising multiple times during her re-election bid against former Republican Gov. Paul LePage that she would not pursue any changes to Maine’s abortion laws.
At the time Mills made these declarations on the campaign trail, Maine law prohibited abortion after the point of viability except in cases where the life or health of the mother was in jeopardy.
“It is critical that Maine people be assured that reproductive autonomy be protected to the greatest extent possible in the state – through an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Maine,” Mills said in testimony supporting the amendment. “Indeed, many of us would argue that Maine’s Constitution already protects reproductive rights, but the language of L.D. 780 would remove any debate.”
“We find ourselves once again facing the real fear of regressing – of returning to the time when women’s health was of secondary concern,” Mills testified. “We have an obligation to prevent that from happening and to protect and defend the right to reproductive health care. This action is needed now more than ever.”
[RELATED: Janet Mills Endorses Planned Parenthood-Backed Abortion Amendment to Maine Constitution]
The amicus brief onto which Frey signed was also joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
Oral arguments in this case are scheduled for March 26, 2024.
Follow the science – women and girls who have taken this “abortion pill” have experienced pain, excessive bleeding and should NOT be allowed to take this terrible drup without a doctor to care for them. Gov Mills has done nothing but lie to the people of Maine concerning abortion. She is listening, as well as most Democratic legislators, to Planned Parenthood. History shows Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood stated she wanted to “breed thoroughbreds” and get rid of all others. That’s why abortion clinics were and still are set near lower income housing. Americanpregnancy.org can assist a woman who has taken the abortion pill and then changes her mind and stands against the powers of coercion. Adoption not abortion!