Green Administration supports continued access to FDA-approved abortion drug

Hawai‘i residents can still access the medication abortion drug mifepristone following two federal district court rulings, and the Green Administration remains united in its determination to ensure that it stays that way.

On Friday, April 7 a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a decision staying the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decades-old approval of mifepristone for use in medication abortion.

Later that same day, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington barred the FDA from “altering the status quo and rights as it relates to the availability” of mifepristone in 18 jurisdictions, including the State of Hawaiʻi.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Anne Lopez authorized the State of Hawai‘i to bring suit as a plaintiff in the Washington case, State of Washington & State of Hawai‘i, et al. v. U.S. Food & Drug Administration, specifically to safeguard access to mifepristone in Hawai‘i.

“I applaud the Washington court’s ruling, which preserves mifepristone access in the State of Hawaiʻi while the Washington case proceeds,” says Attorney General Anne Lopez. “The Texas district court’s decision, on the other hand, blatantly disregards medical research establishing the proven safety of mifepristone. I will continue to fight against unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion, and vigorously support and defend Hawaii’s laws protecting abortion access.”

Gov. Josh Green M.D. feels strongly about health care, including reproductive health care and women’s rights to make choices.

“We cannot condone any scenario in which individual judges in other states seek to override decades of careful, scientific research and approvals of mifepristone by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” Green said. “Our state joins all others that support women’s freedom of choice and their access to all forms of safe, legal health care.”

For decades, Hawaiʻi as a state has recognized the constitutional right to privacy for women and girls to choose how, if, and when they become pregnant. Department of Human Services Director Cathy Betts said Mifepristone has been recognized globally as a safe and effective medication, notably, even safer than penicillin.

“It is incredibly tragic that a safe and effective medication for over two decades is being politicized, threatening the lives of women, inevitably impacting families and our greater community,” Betts said.

Department of Health Director Kenneth Fink, M.D., said access to reproductive healthcare is critical for maternal health outcomes.

“Restricting an FDA approved medication with 20 years of usage disregards science and threatens public health,” Fink said. “With more than 50% of pregnancy terminations in Hawaiʻi utilizing mifepristone, access to medication abortion is vital for women’s health.”

Read more on the order in the case of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food & Drug Administration, 2:22-CV-223-Z (N.D. Tex.) here.

Read more on the order in State of Washington & State of Hawaii, et al. v. U.S. Food & Drug Administration, No. 1:23-CV-3026-TOR (E.D. Wash.) here.