Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today issued the following statement after a federal judge in Washington issued an injunction preventing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from reducing the availability of medication abortion in Illinois and states participating in a lawsuit filed by Raoul and 17 state attorneys general.
“The federal court’s ruling in Washington means that in the state of Illinois, access to mifepristone is protected. Illinois is proud to have been among the 18 states to proactively file a lawsuit to preserve access to mifepristone for patients in Illinois. Today’s order preserves that access notwithstanding the legally-unsound decision made by a single judge in Texas.
“For more than 23 years, mifepristone, which is half of a two-drug medication abortion regimen, has been safely and effectively used by millions of patients. Patients in Illinois will be able to continue to have access to mifepristone as a method of abortion and miscarriage management while our lawsuit continues.
“Let me also be clear: Abortion remains safe and legal in Illinois. The providers who work every day to meet the needs of their patients and provide quality reproductive health care have my appreciation and support. I encourage anyone who needs an abortion to discuss abortion care options, including medication abortion, with a medical provider. I will continue to fight to protect access to medication abortion and for the right of women – in Illinois and beyond our borders – to make their own reproductive health decisions. While we are reviewing the overall effects of these respective rulings, we will press forward to preserve continued access to safe, legal abortion in Illinois.”
