FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 16, 2023
CONTACT: Emily Witt (she/hers), [email protected]
AUSTIN, Texas – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit today released a ruling limiting access to mifepristone by banning telemedicine prescriptions for the drug and shipments of it through the mail.
The 5th Circuit did not uphold a lower court’s ruling that would’ve taken mifepristone, one of the two drugs commonly used for medical abortion, off the market nationwide.
Today’s ruling will not immediately take effect due to a previous stay from the Supreme Court in April.
Texas Freedom Network Executive Director and President Val Benavidez (she/her) issued the following response:
“While today’s ruling preserves nationwide approval of mifepristone, it signals what could be a devastating blow to Texans in need of abortion care — but we refuse to be silenced or intimidated.
“Every ban and limitation on healthcare, including abortion, is a calculated attack on underpaid people, Black communities, Indigenous communities, and all communities of color who continue to be disproportionately harmed by our state’s government and Republican-appointed judges. Our fight for legal, safe abortion for all will never stop, and today’s ruling will not be the last word in the battle to preserve access to medical abortion for every person in the nation.”
The Biden administration has said it will appeal the 5th Circuit’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
