Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said on May 4 that she is relieved after the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily restored access to Mifepristone, a medication used for abortion care. The announcement follows a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that would have reinstated an in-person dispensing requirement for Mifepristone, despite evidence supporting its safe use through telehealth.
The issue has significant implications for women’s health and access to reproductive care, particularly in areas where medical services are limited. Attorney General Nessel joined a coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia in filing an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to stay the lower court’s decision.
“For more than 25 years, Mifepristone has been used safely and effectively in the United States and globally,” said Attorney General Nessel. “It is part of the most common method for early-term abortion care in the United States and is the standard for treating early miscarriages. Let me be clear, the decision from the Fifth Circuit is not based in fact, science, or medicine; it is based on politics. The result would have been disastrous to women’s health, creating unnecessary barriers for women seeking maternity health care, especially those in rural America who don’t have access to obstetrics clinics or hospitals. I am relieved that the U.S. Supreme Court acted quickly to stay this decision, and I will continue to stand with women in Michigan and across the nation.”
Mifepristone has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration since 2000 and is commonly used with misoprostol through ten weeks of pregnancy. An estimated 7.5 million people have safely used it nationwide since approval. Medication abortion now accounts for over half of all abortions provided within formal healthcare settings in America.
A Michigan Senate Fiscal Analysis completed last year found that nearly one quarter of Michigan counties lack maternity care facilities or providers entirely—so-called ‘maternity care deserts.’ Approximately 32,000 women live within these areas statewide.
Nessel was joined by attorneys general from New York, California, Massachusetts, Washington state as well as others from across several states along with Pennsylvania’s governor.