If the Supreme Court bans the distribution of mifepristone, the abortion pill, Oregon has enough to last them for the next couple of years.
Gov. Tina Kotek (D-Oregon) announced that she had stockpiled three years' worth of mifepristone, assuring women in her state would have access to abortions regardless of the federal court's ruling.
"I will make sure that patients are able to access the medication they need and providers are able to provide that medication without unnecessary, politically-motivated interference and intimidation," Kotek said in a statement.
22,000 abortions can be performed with the number of pills the state has hoarded.
Oregon is partnering with Oregon Health & Science University to obtain 22,500 doses of mifepristone, joining Washington, California, New York, and Massachusetts in buying bulk amounts of the abortion pill.
Maryland also decided to stockpile the controversial medication, and New Jersey says they are also considering doing the same.
Kotek said that the lower courts' decisions around the abortion pill set "an alarming precedent of putting politics above established science, medical evidence, and a patient's health, life, and well-being, with potential implications beyond this one medication."
She claimed that banning the so-called "right" to allow women to kill an unborn baby is unconstitutional, adding that Americans "cannot afford to stand by and watch our fundamental right to reproductive health care be stripped away."
Mifepristone was approved by the Food and Drug Administration over two decades ago and has been used by more than 5 million women to end their pregnancies. The conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit in Texas last year, claiming that the FDA rushed to approve the drug without knowing the long-term side effects.
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The Supreme Court is currently mulling the decision to allow the common but dangerous abortion pill to hit pharmacies.
On Friday, the court announced that the drug distribution would remain available and unchanged while the Biden Administration appeals a decision from U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk's abortion ruling.
We cannot afford to stand by & watch our fundamental right to reproductive health care be stripped away.
— Governor Tina Kotek (@GovTinaKotek) April 20, 2023
I am announcing Oregon has secured a 3 year supply of Mifepristone.
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