Press Releases
04/19/2023
Attorney General Tong Statement on Extension of Supreme Court Stay Preserving Access to Medication Abortion Nationwide
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong issued the following statement after U.S Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito extended an administrative stay of the Texas medication abortion decision that would suspend the Food and Drug Administration’s long-standing approval of mifepristone. The stay is now in effect through Friday, April 21 at 11:59 p.m.
“I credit the U.S. Supreme Court for further staying the extremist Texas order, preserving access to safe, legal medication abortion for women and patients across the country and for taking more time to review these incredibly important issues. Here in Connecticut, medication abortion remains available and accessible, and I am fighting in multiple courts alongside attorneys general across the country to make sure it stays that way. That’s why I fought for this stay, and why I will advocate aggressively for women and patients at every single step of this case. And it’s why we went on the offensive, filing our own case in Washington state to proactively protect our rights here in Connecticut. Radical partisan politicians need to get the hell out of our doctors’ offices,” said Attorney General Tong.
On Friday, April 7, a judge in 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. The FDA first approved mifepristone in 2000, and since then 5.6 million people in the U.S. have used it safely for medication abortion and miscarriage care. 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 medication abortion in the plaintiff states.
Medication abortion is safe, legal, and accessible in Connecticut. Attorney General Tong issued a formal opinion on April 14 ensuring there would be no ambiguity as to patients’ rights to access abortion, providers’ ability to prescribe mifepristone, and the state’s ability to cover mifepristone under its Medicaid program.
- Twitter: @AGWilliamTong
- Facebook: CT Attorney General
Media Contact:
Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov
Consumer Inquiries:
860-808-5318
attorney.general@ct.gov