Attorney General Mayes Affirms Safety of, and Access to, Mifepristone

PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes today joined 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 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 Mayes previously joined a multistate federal lawsuit against the FDA accusing it of singling out one of the two drugs used for medication abortions for excessively burdensome regulation, despite ample evidence that the drug is safer than Tylenol. Arizona also joined an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the (FDA) and Danco Laboratories LLC's petitions to reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit's ruling that reinstated certain medically unnecessary, and previously eliminated, restrictions on the medication. Mayes also challenged the decision issued by a district court judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas that would have restricted medication abortion access nationwide.

Joining Attorney General Mayes in issuing this statement are the attorney generals of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.