Attorney General Kris Mayes stood alongside a coalition of 20 attorneys general on Tuesday to reinforce the safety and availability of mifepristone, a critical drug used in early-term abortions and miscarriage management. This united front, as reported by the Arizona Attorney General's office, directly challenges a call from Republican state attorneys general to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advocating for new restrictions or the outright withdrawal of mifepristone from the market.
In their joint statement, the coalition addressed the fact that "For more than 25 years, mifepristone has been used safely and effectively in the United States and globally." They emphasized the drug's status as the most common method for early-term abortion care and for managing early miscarriage in the country. The recent decision to reexamine mifepristone is seen as a response to a letter that ignores "decades of research that proves mifepristone is safe and effective," Mayes and her colleagues collectively stated, further noting that “Medical decisions should be left between patients, their families, and their providers – and they should be guided by science, not political agendas.”
The group of attorneys general stressed their commitment to upholding state laws and safeguarding residents' access to reproductive care. In light of the potential challenges to mifepristone access, they vowed to take necessary actions to protect it. This coalition is not only vocal but also legally proactive, as evidenced by Attorney General Mayes’s previous involvement in a multistate lawsuit against the FDA. The lawsuit accused the agency of disproportionately heavy regulation on mifepristone, despite it being safer than many over-the-counter medications like Tylenol.
Mayes's advocacy has also included joining an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting the FDA and Danco Laboratories LLC's petitions to overturn a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruling that had reinstated certain previously abolished restrictions on the medication. Moreover, she disputed a decision from a district court judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas that, if upheld, would have limited medication abortion access nationwide. Among those joining Attorney General Mayes in issuing this statement are the attorneys general 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.
