The Quickie: Mifepristone Remains FDA Approved and Available; Planned Parenthood Condemns 5th Circuit Ruling In Case
For Immediate Release: Aug. 17, 2023
Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.
In today’s Quickie: Planned Parenthood condemns 5th Circuit ruling limiting mifepristone access, new polling data shows overwhelming support for abortion rights, and North Carolina overrides governor’s veto of anti-trans bills.
MIFEPRISTONE REMAINS FDA APPROVED AND AVAILABLE; PLANNED PARENTHOOD CONDEMNS 5TH CIRCUIT RULING IN MIFEPRISTONE CASE: While mifepristone remains FDA approved and available for now, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to turn back the clock on access to mifepristone.
As Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, explains, “..the 5th Circuit’s opinion makes it clear that mifepristone’s approval is very much still at risk, as is the FDA’s independence. Pregnant people should be the ones who make decisions about their own health care, and medical professionals should be the ones who make evidence-based decisions about the safety of medications — not judges. The Supreme Court should reject this clearly baseless and political attempt to interfere with our ability to get health care.”
Read Planned Parenthood’s statement here and more from Rolling Stone, NBC News, and Reuters.
NEW ABORTION POLLING SHOWS SUPPORT FOR ABORTION RIGHTS IN STATE CONSTITUTIONS AND THE STAKES FOR 2024: Today, Navigator Research published new polling indicating strong support for abortion rights nationwide and at the state level. According to the poll, two in three Americans would vote to protect abortion rights in their state constitution if their state held a vote on the issue. This includes four in five Democrats and nearly three in five independents. Support was also strong across racial and ethnic demographics, with a majority Black, Hispanic, White, and AAPI respondents saying they would vote to protect abortion rights.
When asked if a Republican majority in Congress and a Republican president would pass a nationwide abortion ban, four in five Democrats (79 percent), two in three independents (64 percent), and nearly half of Republicans (48 percent) said yes.
Read more takeaways from the Navigator Research poll here.
NORTH CAROLINA BECOMES LATEST STATE TO LEGISLATE HATE AGAINST TRANS YOUTH: Yesterday, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to override Gov. Cooper’s veto of three anti-LGBTQ+ bills: a bill banning gender-affirming care for young people; a bill preventing transgender youth from participating in school athletics; and legislation to censor curriculum and force school staff to "out" students. All three bills immediately became law. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic which provides gender-affirming health care in North Carolina, including hormone therapy, responded to these attacks:
“Before they passed a budget or expanded Medicaid, North Carolina lawmakers decided to attack kids who are transgender,” said Jillian Riley, Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. “Once again, the leaders of the North Carolina General Assembly are using their power to bully some of our most vulnerable neighbors and interfere with medical best practices. No one should have to justify their health care to a politician, period.”
“Gender-affirming health care is essential, life-saving care, and it is absolutely shameful and dangerous to take it away from young people in this state,” said Natalie Frazier, Certified Nurse-Midwife and Clinician Supervisor at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. “Restrictions on this care are opposed by medical bodies and organizations across the country who consistently warn such policies threaten the lives of transgender young people. We want all transgender and queer youth in North Carolina to know that we see you, and we encourage people to contact us for help if they need access to care.”
More from the AP and the News & Observer.