ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Friday, May 1, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halted abortion providers’ ability to prescribe pills by telemedicine and mail them to patients. The order comes as part of a lawsuit by the state of Louisiana against the US Food and Drug Administration about access to mifepristone, a well-tested medication that has been in common use for decades. Louisiana argued that its residents’ access to mailed mediation abortion is an injury against the state’s draconian restrictions to reproductive rights.
Chairs of the House and Senate Reproductive Freedom Caucus Representative Leigh Finke (DFL-St. Paul) and Senator Erin Maye Quade (DFL-Apple Valley) release the following statement:
“This is the first time Minnesotans’ access to abortion care has been restricted in over two decades. It is more evidence that anti-abortion zealots have captured courts at every level to enable their crusade to ban abortion nationwide. This medically unnecessary restriction on medication abortion hurts patients in every state — even ones that have affirmed their residents’ right to abortion care.
“We have led the nation in reproductive freedom, passing laws to protect every person’s right to bodily autonomy, free from government intrusion. Telehealth access to medication abortion is safe, effective, and backed by decades of evidence-based research and peer-reviewed studies. The Reproductive Freedom Caucus will continue to fight for Minnesotans’ right to decide if, when, and how to become a parent.”
###
Learn more about Sen. Maye Quade.
