Attorneys general issue joint statement affirming the safety of and access to medical abortion drug

Attorney General Nick Brown today joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in issuing a joint statement addressing concerns over a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review of mifepristone.

“For more than 25 years, mifepristone has been used safely and effectively in the United States and globally. It is currently the most common method for early-term abortion care in the United States and is the standard of care for managing early miscarriage,” the statement reads. “The decision to reexamine access to this medication was made in response to a scientifically baseless letter and ignores decades of research that proves mifepristone is safe and effective. Medical decisions should be left between patients, their families, and their providers—and they should be guided by science, not political agendas.  

“As state attorneys general, we have a responsibility to enforce state laws and protect our residents, including their access to reproductive care. If access to mifepristone is challenged, we will take action to protect it.”  

This review was referenced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Makary in response to a letter from Republican state attorneys general to the FDA calling for restrictions on or withdrawal of mifepristone from the market.

In August, Brown was part of a multistate coalition requesting the FDA remove burdensome restrictions on mifepristone, citing extensive evidence on the safety of medication abortion in their states.

Since receiving FDA approval in 2000, the combination of mifepristone and misoprostol has been the only FDA-approved regimen to end an early pregnancy. The safety and efficacy of medication abortion are well established by hundreds of scientific studies, and more than 7.5 million women in the U.S. have safely used mifepristone for abortion care or miscarriage management.

Data compiled by the Washington State Department of Health shows that of the nearly 30,000 medication abortions provided in Washington in 2023 and 2024, the overwhelming majority had no complications, and fewer than 0.2% resulted in a complication severe enough to warrant hospitalization.

Joining Brown in issuing this statement are the attorney generals of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

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