Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which will preserve access to medication abortion.
“Mifepristone has been safely used by millions of patients throughout the United States for nearly a quarter of a century, which is why when access to mifepristone was threatened, my office took immediate action to ensure patients in Illinois could continue to access the full range of reproductive care – including medication abortion.
“More than a year ago, my office joined a coalition of attorneys general to proactively file a lawsuit to preserve access to mifepristone for patients in Illinois. We also stood with attorneys general throughout the country to file a brief supporting the FDA and Danco Laboratories in this case. As we suspected all along, the plaintiffs in this case seeking to undermine access to abortion do not have standing to challenge the FDA’s decades-old decision that mifepristone is safe and effective.
“While we continue to evaluate the impact of the court’s decision on women living in states surrounding Illinois, today's decision is a huge win for abortion access.
“However, we know the attacks on abortion care will continue, and we know they are taking new forms. In fact, the Supreme Court’s opinion expressly references the executive and legislative branches as avenues to restrict access to abortion and mifepristone, and I am committed to proactively pushing back against any effort to restrict reproductive health care on every front here in Illinois and nationwide. I will continue to protect access to every aspect of reproductive health care, from preserving access to contraceptives, fertility treatment and abortion care to access to gender-affirming care. Every individual deserves the right to make their own health care decisions, and I will not stop fighting to preserve that right.”
