Attorneys general from New York, California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey have petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove existing restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone.
These Democrat-led states argue that current regulations, including special certifications for prescribers and patient attestations, are outdated and medically unnecessary, hindering access, especially in rural areas. The petition cites extensive evidence demonstrating the pill’s safety since its FDA approval in 2000.
The petition opposes FDA rules that require mifepristone prescribers to be listed as abortion providers, mandate patients to sign a written statement confirming their intent to end a pregnancy, and force pharmacies to complete extensive record-keeping.
New York Attorney General Letitia James stated that these restrictions keep mifepristone restricted in most primary care settings, citing that this issue is particularly affecting rural and underserved communities where access to abortion services are already limited.
James stated, “There is simply no scientific or medical reason to subject it to such extraordinary restrictions…The FDA must follow the science.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has initiated a comprehensive safety review of the abortion pill mifepristone at the directive of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This decision follows a recent study by the Ethics & Public Policy Center (EPPC), a conservative think tank, which claims that nearly 11% of women who used mifepristone experienced serious adverse events such as sepsis, hemorrhaging, or infection—significantly higher than the FDA’s current estimate of 0.5%.
This petition is part of a broader effort by Democratic-led states to expand access to abortion services amid ongoing legal battles and varying state-level restrictions following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
