BREAKING: Leading National Gender Equality Group UltraViolet Responds to SCOTUS’ Five Day Stay on Abortion Pill Case
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, April 14, 2023
CONTACT: Anna Zuccaro | anna@unbendablemedia.com
BREAKING: Leading National Gender Equality Group UltraViolet Responds to SCOTUS’ Five Day Stay on Abortion Pill Case
WASHINGTON, DC — Moments ago, the Supreme Court issued an administrative stay temporarily halting Amarillo, TX Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s controversial ruling on mifepristone from going into effect this evening. The decision comes shortly after the Department of Justice’s appeal to the Supreme Court from the 5th Circuit.
In response to the decision, Shaunna Thomas, co-founder and executive director of UltraViolet, a leading gender rights advocacy organization, issued the following statement:
“Let’s be clear, the Supreme Court issuing a stay is not a ‘win.’ We are still in a very precarious situation when it comes to abortion pill access in the United States which, like all abortion access, is under relentless assault by Republicans.
“If not for this stay millions of people could have lost access to mifepristone nationwide. That reality is still possible.
“The Supreme Court justices are well aware that allowing a single district court judge to overturn the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, a rigorously tested, safe, and effective medication, could lead to significant legal repercussions for government agencies. And for some, the wide-ranging impacts that would have on people who need access to this life-saving drug throughout the United States.
“While there is no short-term ban on mifepristone right now, this case proves how fragile reproductive healthcare is throughout our country and how relentless anti-abortion politicians and activists will be until abortion is banned nationwide.”
In anticipation of the federal district court ruling in Amarillo, TX, UltraViolet called on:
- Retail Pharmacies like Walgreens, CVS, Rite-Aid, Walmart, and Target to provide mifepristone to customers, and release public statements about the safety and efficacy of the drug and brand commitments to provide it to their customers;
- The FDA and the Biden Administration to ignore the ruling — a single federal district court judge should not have the power to halt a government agency’s authority, especially not over a safe, legal medication available for more than twenty years;
- Governors to cut ties to pharmaceutical providers who refuse to dispense mifepristone, and for State Attorneys General to give assurances to providers that they will be protected from litigation if they continue to provide mifepristone;
- All health insurance providers must cover abortion care, even in the face of this potential ban, and speak out against the ruling.
Last month, UltraViolet commissioned a mobile billboard in Phoenix, AZ at the American Pharmacists Association Conference, urging pharmacists to continue advocating for the protection of access to mifepristone.
VIEW THE PHOTOS HERE: https://dam.gettyimages.com/assignments/ultraviolet-calls-on-pharmacists-to-reaffirm
# # #