Oregon Governor Tina Kotek issued a statement in response to the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruling. This ruling stems from a lawsuit filed last November by anti-abortion groups in Texas. It aims to block use of Mifepristone, a medication used for abortion in the United States.

The Plaintiff Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over its approval of mifepristone, a medication used to terminate a pregnancy. Plaintiff alleged that the FDA exceeded its regulatory authority to approve the drugs by using its accelerated drug approval authority, failed to study the safety of the drugs under the labeled conditions of use, and ignored the potential impacts of hormone-blocking regiment on adolescent girls.

Governor Kotek stated, “This is a shameful, dangerous ruling that will prevent patients across the country from accessing safe, effective medication. As we sort out the impact of this ruling, hear me loud and clear: abortion is still accessible and legal in Oregon. As your Governor, I believe in the right to reproductive freedom and will continue to be a fierce advocate for that right. My administration will be working with the Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Department of Justice, and the Biden Administration to evaluate the ruling and fight for patients across Oregon and the United States.”

However, the U.S. District Courts Summary states: By illegally approving chemical abortion drugs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration failed to abide by its legal obligations to protect the health, safety, and welfare of girls and women. The FDA never studied the safety of the drugs under the labeled conditions of use, ignored the potential impacts of the hormone-blocking regimen on the developing bodies of adolescent girls, disregarded the substantial evidence that chemical abortion drugs cause more complications than surgical abortions, and eliminated necessary safeguards for pregnant girls and women who undergo this dangerous drug regimen.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

What exactly is Governor Kotek condemning? The continued use of a drug that has never been tested for real world use and girls under 18? Chemical abortion drugs causing hemorrhaging where 35 percent end up in the emergency room? Protecting girls from becoming sterile?

In the Oregon Legislature, HB 2002 passed the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care on a partisan vote and is now in the Ways and Means Committee. Oregon law already allows school health centers to give out abortion drugs or arrange for an abortion without parents' knowledge or consent. HB 2002 extends that to gender-affirming treatments to transgender. This bill should be evaluated for compliance with the ruling to protect our students.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2023-04-07 19:54:35

Last Update: 2023-04-07 20:07:42