Senator Murray Statement on Court Revoking Mifepristone Approval--Threatening to Effectively Ban It in All 50 States

Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), issued the following statement on the ruling from a federal district court in Texas revoking the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decades-old approval of mifepristone--a safe and effective medication that is used in more than half of all abortions nationwide and is safer than Tylenol.

The new ruling will not go into effect for seven days to allow the government time to appeal--but threatens to create a de facto nationwide ban on mifepristone, denying patients in all 50 states--including those like Washington state, with strong abortion protections--a safe and effective option for ending an early pregnancy.

"Like millions of women in America today, I am furious. For anti-choice Republican extremists, the goal has always been to force women in all fifty states to stay pregnant even when they don't want to be--and that's what this appalling decision threatens to do.

"This decision could deny women in every state--including states like Washington with strong abortion protections--the ability to get the abortion care they need with a drug that is safer than Tylenol. This ruling threatens to effectively create a nationwide ban on the most common way patients get abortion care--and it absolutely cannot stand.

"Overruling FDA's experts and seeking to pull mifepristone from the shelves has nothing to do with the science or with safety--which has long been settled--and everything to do with ripping away every woman's most basic right to control her own body.

"If left to stand, this outrageous decision will deny millions of women across the country the ability to get the abortion care they need--creating chaos as patients seek alternative options and as doctors are forced to navigate a shifting, chaotic legal landscape to simply care for their patients.

"Like so many across the country, I am relieved to see that a separate federal judge has ruled to protect access to mifepristone. It's critical patients can get the essential care they need in this confusing moment, and I trust the administration will act quickly to protect patients' access to mifepristone."

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