Maine Gov. Janet Mills signs amicus brief warning of ‘enormously disruptive impact on state governance’ if medication abortion ruling is allowed to stand 

(Portland, MAINE) – On the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s announcement that it will hear oral arguments in a case that poses an unprecedented threat to medication abortion, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed on to an amicus brief Tuesday urging the court to reverse a lower court ruling that would severely restrict access and availability of mifepristone and call into question the Food and Drug Administration's authority to regulate medications of any kind. 

As part of the 22-state Reproductive Freedom Alliance, Mills signed on to the amicus brief that argues the lower court’s ruling, if allowed to stand, would be harmful not only to reproductive healthcare but to governors’ ability to protect the public health of their constituents. 

In August 2023, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine et al vs. U.S. Food and Drug Administration et al that would sharply restrict access to safe, legal abortion medication nationwide. That ruling has not taken effect as the case will now be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.  

"[Governors] rely on FDA determinations to meet the needs of those seeking healthcare in their states,” the amicus brief reads. “Nothing about this framework contemplates litigants outside of Reproductive Freedom Alliance states who morally disapprove of a particular drug using out-of-state federal courts to invalidate FDA’s expert judgment…This strategy, if successful, would have an enormously disruptive impact on state governance and hamstring Governors’ ability to fulfill their mandate of protecting public health and safety in the reproductive healthcare context and beyond.” 

The Reproductive Freedom Alliance brief comes a week after the Maine legislature’s judiciary committee held a public hearing on a bill that proposes to explicitly enshrine the right to reproductive autonomy in the state’s constitution.  

For more information about Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine et al vs. U.S. Food and Drug Administration et al and medication abortion, click here. 

Statement from Lisa Margulies, Esq., Vice President of Public Affairs, Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England 

“We applaud Governor Mills and her colleagues for continuing to fight to protect access to abortion and related care. Governor Mills acted immediately following the U.S. Supreme Court’s revocation of federal protections for abortion with an executive order protecting providers and patients in Maine. She followed that order by championing historic legislation that safeguards and expands access to abortion in our state all while attacks on our rights and freedoms continue across the country, including here in Maine. 

Let’s be clear: This case is just one of numerous politically motivated attacks on reproductive liberties in the wake of Dobbs. The extremists behind this attack on mifepristone are the same extremists who want to restrict access to birth control, to gender-affirming care, and to reproductive autonomy for Mainers and for all Americans.  

Mainers elected reproductive rights champions to represent them in the Blaine House and in the State House. Governor Mills has proven her commitment to protecting the people of Maine, our values and public health. It is the duty of Maine lawmakers to follow suit and let Maine voters decide the future of reproductive autonomy in our state.” 

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Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England in Maine. PPNNE has four health centers in Maine and sees more than 12,000 patients a year.