Healey order aims to protect abortion pill access

By SAM DRYSDALE

State House News Service

Published: 04-11-2023 5:01 PM

BOSTON — After a federal judge in Texas suspended FDA approval of abortion pill mifepristone, Gov. Maura Healey issued an executive order on Monday that is meant to clarify that a state law passed last year to protect abortion access from out-of-state prosecution extends to the pills as well.

The governor’s office also announced that the University of Massachusetts Amherst ordered 15,000 doses of mifepristone last week, to arrive in the Bay State this week, to stockpile in event of a shortage. The university will distribute the mifepristone pills to providers.

Healey’s announcement outside the State House comes after Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk invalidated the Federal Drug Administration’s authorization of the abortion pill on Friday. The pill had been legally on the market for 23 years. A federal judge in Washington issued a conflicting ruling later that day, saying the FDA should do nothing to restrict access to the drug.

“With this stockpiled supply of mifepristone, our providers can continue to offer the gold standard of medication abortion care to thousands of people throughout the state, regardless of what a judge in Texas says,” said Reproductive Equity Now President Rebecca Hart Holder. “Today, Massachusetts is sending a clear message that we will fight back against attempts to reach across our borders and restrict access to care.”

The doses of mifepristone purchased by UMass Amherst are enough “to ensure sufficient coverage in the state for more than one year,” according to Reproductive Equity Now, which added that health care providers in Massachusetts “have also agreed to purchase additional quantities to make available for patients” and the “Healey-Driscoll Administration is also dedicating $1 million to support providers contracted with the Department of Public Health in paying for these doses.”

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