WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) joined colleagues from both the House and Senate in an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit urging it to halt the dangerous Texas decision on abortion medication from taking effect. In the brief, the lawmakers express their support of the Department of Justice’s appeal of the recent ruling by a district court judge in Texas that would suspend the approval of the abortion medication Mifepristone by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which affirmed the safety and effectiveness of this medication more than 20 years ago. If allowed to go into effect, the ruling would severely threaten access to reproductive care for patients nationwide, as well as the FDA’s Congressionally-mandated authority and drug approval process.
“The recent attempt to restrict access to abortion medication is just the latest attack on women’s ability to access reproductive care,” said Senator Rosen. “I joined this amicus brief to urge the Court of Appeals to stop this disastrous restriction from going into effect and threatening reproductive care for women in Nevada. I will continue fighting to protect abortion access and ensure reproductive rights are protected by federal law.”
In the new amicus brief, the Members of Congress underscore that the district court ruling has no basis in law, risks denying patients in every part of the country access to Mifepristone, a safe and effective medication widely used in abortion care and miscarriage management for years, and jeopardizes patients’ access to a wide array of other medications by threatening FDA’s drug approval process, which was designed and mandated by Congress. Accordingly, they ask the court to stay the district court’s order.
“Emergency relief from the order is necessary to mitigate the imminent harm facing members of the public, many of whom rely on the availability of mifepristone for reproductive care—and many more rely on the integrity of FDA’s drug approval process for continued access to life-improving and life-saving drugs. Congress intended to—and did—vest authority in FDA to evaluate and ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs in the United States, and Amici call on this Court to give due weight to that intent,” wrote the lawmakers.
In the face of attacks by anti-choice politicians, Senator Rosen has been a leader in fighting for women’s reproductive rights. Last week, Senator Rosen released a statement condemning the ruling by a Federal District Court Judge in Texas that would effectively ban access to Mifepristone. Last month, Senator Rosen helped introduce the Women’s Health Protection Act to enshrine Roe v. Wade in federal law and protect millions of women’s access to reproductive health care. The next day, she sent a letter to Walgreens strongly opposing the company’s decision not to dispense the abortion pill mifepristone in certain states. Senator Rosen has staunchly opposed Republican efforts to impose a nationwide abortion ban.
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