Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, along with the attorneys general of California, New York, and New Jersey, has submitted a formal Citizen Petition to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting the removal of the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for the abortion medication mifepristone.
As per the Mass.gov, the petition follows a call from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for a review of the drug. The group argues that the REMS requirements limit access to mifepristone without providing additional safety benefits.
The attorneys general are also seeking to stop the application of REMS within their states, which they say already have strict health care regulations. They note that mifepristone has been used in the U.S. for nearly 25 years with a strong safety record and is widely used for early-term abortions and miscarriage care.
The petition states that other medications with greater risk profiles, such as opioids and blood thinners, are not subject to similar restrictions. Mifepristone is included on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines, yet the REMS program continues to limit its distribution and use.
The attorneys general claim the REMS restrictions are not supported by current medical data and that the federal requirements may conflict with existing state health care frameworks.
