Plan C Statement: SCOTUS preserves status quo for now, but access to abortion is still lacking in the US
April 21, 2023 - Tonight, the Supreme Court of the United States of America issued a stay on the April 13th Fifth Circuit ruling in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA that would have imposed restrictions on mifepristone. The ruling was issued with no acknowledgement of the decades of evidence on the safety and efficacy of mifepristone.
“It’s absurd that once again, folks who care about their right and access to abortion are spending their Friday evening interpreting news updates from extremist judges: judges who decided this time around not to make access worse than it is. We would like to think it is because they are realizing the monumental consequences of their harmful and unjust actions — that any and every additional abuse of power will accelerate their own delegitimization and disgrace.”
- Amy Merrill, Plan C Co-founder and Digital Director
“The longer this court case continues, the further we travel down a path of legitimizing the baseless claims of a small group of extremists as something worthy of the court’s attention. A stay is the correct decision but does not erase the chaos, confusion, and fear that this case was designed to cause. And, even though mifepristone can remain on the market for now, access to abortion care is still severely and unjustly restricted in many states.”
- Elisa Wells, Plan C Co-Founder and Co-Director
There is overwhelming evidence that mifepristone is medically safe and effective up to twelve weeks from a pregnant person’s last menstrual period, even when used without clinician support to self-manage an abortion. While this stay preserves access to mifepristone while the case is under appeal, it does nothing to address the unjust state bans that are currently blocking access to abortion care for so many communities. Fortunately, in all states and territories, there is — and will remain — a robust alternate supply of pills for medically-safe self-managed abortion.
The Plan C Guide is a research-based resource that describes these alternate routes of access, including Aid Access, websites that sell pills, and community networks like Las Libres, Red State Access, and WeSaveUs. The Guide also highlights potential legal risks and provides links to free resources for medical and legal support for self-managed abortion to help people understand their options and make decisions that meet their needs in the face of this injustice.
Medication abortion will go on.
Plan C will continue to provide research-based information about where to obtain medication abortion throughout this fight.
Previous Plan C statements on this matter:
4/8/23, on the original FDA rulings from Texas and Washington states.