Louisiana v. FDA

Public Rights Project, along with 110 local governments and local government leaders, filed an amicus brief opposing an appeals court ruling that restricts access to the abortion medication, mifepristone. The decision would ban the drug from being delivered by mail or at pharmacies — reinstating medically unnecessary and burdensome in-person dispensing requirements even in states with shield law protections.

The brief urges the U.S. Supreme Court to block or overturn the lower court’s ruling and preserve access to the medication through mailing and pharmacy visits. We argue that the Fifth Circuit improperly overrode the policy choices of elected officials and communities that have chosen to protect abortion access.

Today, nearly two-thirds of abortions are carried out with medication, and more than a quarter of medication abortions with mifepristone are prescribed via telemedicine. If the decision stands, local governments and their residents will face significant harm:

• Additional health care costs: Restricting access to mifepristone through mail delivery and pharmacies will push more people to seek care through local clinics, hospitals, and emergency services — shifting additional costs onto communities.
• Strain on health care systems: A requirement for in-person dispensing will increase demand for in-person appointments, placing additional pressure on public and community health systems and delaying care for all patients.
• Limited access to care for residents: Local governments, pharmacies, and health care providers will be unable to facilitate safe, legal, and easily accessible medication abortions in their own communities. Miscarriage management care will also be jeopardized.

In many states, abortion access is protected. If the Supreme Court does not step in, the impacts will be felt nationwide, with the greatest burden falling on communities of color, low-income populations, rural residents, and those experiencing intimate partner violence.

Read the amicus brief.

Update:

Access to abortion medication is under attack again. The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower court’s ruling that would have stripped mifepristone access via mail and pharmacy dispensing nationwide. The case is now back before the appeals court, and the right to safe and effective care is still on the line — including in states where abortion is legally protected.

Public Rights Project, together with 116 local governments and local government leaders, filed an amicus brief in the Fifth Circuit appeals court to defend access to essential, life-saving reproductive and sexual health care.

Our brief argues that local governments and their residents will bear the consequences if mifepristone is banned from being delivered by mail or picked up at pharmacies. Reproductive health care providers — including public clinics and hospitals — will absorb higher in-person demand, while costs and wait times rise. Our partners recognize that the residents they serve deserve better.

Read the amicus brief.