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OAKLAND — Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led 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. This review was referenced by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Martin 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:
“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 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.”
Attorney General Bonta is committed to defending and preserving Californians’ access to reproductive healthcare, including their access to mifepristone. Earlier this year, Attorney General Bonta filed a petition with the FDA requesting that it eliminate unnecessary restrictions on the abortion medication mifepristone by removing the Mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy Program. In 2024, he took steps to ensure that Californians living in Northern California are able to access the emergency reproductive care to which they are entitled by filing a lawsuit against Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, California, alleging it violated multiple California laws due to its refusal to provide emergency abortion care to people experiencing obstetric emergencies. Later that year, he announced a first-of-its-kind stipulated judgment that ensures the City of Beverly Hills comes into full compliance with the law and provides a benchmark for local governments to align with state reproductive healthcare laws.
Joining Attorney General Bonta in issuing this statement, which he co-led with the attorneys general of Massachusetts and New York, are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
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