ACLU Comment on Stay Issued by Supreme Court in Medication Abortion Case

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court granted a request from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Danco today to stay a decisions issued the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that severely restricted the use of mifepristone — a medication used in most abortions in this country — and threatened the innovation of new drugs and the ability of Americans to access lifesaving drugs.

In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling, Jennifer Dalven, director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, issued the following statement:

“This is very welcome news, but it’s frightening to think that Americans came within hours of losing access to a medication that is used in most abortions in this country and has been used for decades by millions of people to safely end a pregnancy or treat a miscarriage. Patients shouldn’t have to monitor Twitter to see whether they can get the care they need.

“Make no mistake, we aren’t out of the woods by any means. This case, which should have been laughed out of court from the very start, will continue on. And as this baseless lawsuit shows, extremists will use every trick in the book to try to ban abortion nationwide. But if our opponents think we will allow them to continue to pursue their extreme goals without fierce backlash, they are sorely mistaken. Their efforts to prevent us from making our own decisions about whether to have a child are deeply unpopular, and we’ll keep doing everything in our power to work toward a world where everyone can actually make these decisions for themselves.”