Newsom on abortion pill: ‘This should scare the hell out of everyone’
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday morning warned about the consequences of denying access to the abortion drug mifepristone, which the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on as part of a challenge by anti-abortion groups.
The hearing comes nearly two years after the SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade, the precedent-setting decision that protected the right to get an abortion throughout the nation. Since the June 2022 Dobbs decision, some states with Republican-controlled governments have passed a number of laws restricting or outright banning the practice of abortion.
“Republicans want a national abortion ban. Full stop. And they’ll do whatever it takes — including trying to strip away FDA approval for a drug that has been proven to be safe and effective for decades,” Newsom said in a statement released early Tuesday morning.
At issue in the case of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. Food and Drug Administration is the FDA’S decades-old approval of mifepristone, which is used in medication abortions. If the Supreme Court upholds a lower court ruling, access to the drug will be cut off nationwide.
The governor said that “these hostile actions” aren’t just unpopular, but they “fly in the face of science” and put pregnant people at risk.
Newsom said a great deal is at stake as the Supreme Court hears arguments, including reproductive freedom, the scientific process and the innovation economy.
“This should scare the hell out of everyone. These extremists will continue working to roll back rights, and we cannot waver in our work to stop them,” Newsom said.
The governor warned that the Supreme Court could invoke an 1800s era law, the Comstock Act, “to impose a backdoor nationwide abortion ban.”
While other states, including Washington and Massachusetts, took action early on to stockpile supplies of mifepristone, Newsom opted not to, instead choosing to stockpile another abortion drug, misoprostol. While abortions can be managed with just misoprostol, the World Health Organization recommends taking mifepristone and misprostol together.
However, California has taken action to defend access to mifepristone. That includes both Newsom, through the 23-governor Reproductive Freedom Alliance, and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, filing “friend of the court” briefs in support of the drug.
In a statement to The Bee, Bonta said that “we stand at a critical juncture in the ongoing fight for reproductive freedom. Upholding full access to mifepristone isn’t just about preserving access to a medication; it’s about affirming the fundamental right of every individual to autonomy over their own body and reproductive healthcare decisions.”