Officials are assuring Connecticut residents of continued access to mifepristone despite a Texas federal judge’s ruling. That decision will restrict nationwide access to the abortion pill.
Attorney General William Tong said Connecticut, along with 16 other states and the District of Columbia, have already obtained a ruling from another federal judge in Washington state upholding the legality of the drug.
“And at least in Connecticut and those 16 other states and the District of Columbia that mifepristone is still legal, effective, safe and available,” he said.
On Friday afternoon, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a decision suspending the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) long-standing approval of mifepristone.
At the same time, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington issued a decision in a separate case brought by the attorneys general of 17 states and the District of Columbia—including Connecticut. That decision bars the FDA from reducing access to abortion medication in the plaintiff states.
“This should be bipartisan issues when we stand up and protect a woman’s right to choose,” Governor Ned Lamont said. He is reaching out to fellow governors across the country to stand against the Texas court’s ruling.
Connecticut abortion providers have seen a 30% increase in out-of-state women seeking abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, according to Dr. Nancy Stanwood of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England.
