Washington, DC — Kicking off Women’s History Month, DAGA Co-Chair and Delaware AG Kathy Jennings, Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum, and Arizona AG Kris Mayes joined MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin for a panel where they discussed how they’re using the Attorney General’s Office to safeguard reproductive rights, fight the opioid crisis, and protect election workers and officials from violent threats.

As abortion medication has become increasingly under attack by the GOP, Democratic AGs have taken legal actions to protect and expand abortion access. Last month, a group of Democratic AGs filed a lawsuit against the FDA over unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone. On the panel, Oregon AG Rosenblum stated, “[…] We have brought this lawsuit because what we believe in is access to health care. And we believe that abortion is health care. We believe that this lawsuit will help providers, will help patients to be able to obtain access to medication abortion, which has proven to be safe for the last 20 years. It has been used regularly in every state in the country. So, we are doing everything we can to ensure access to these drugs. […]” Arizona AG Mayes also announced that she is “getting ready to stand up a reproductive rights unit” in her office.

On the opioid crisis, Delaware AG Jennings spoke about how she’s helped secure settlements from pharmaceutical companies for their role in overprescribing opioids. “This settlement is extremely consequential. It is the latest round of our efforts across the country on a bipartisan basis to hold accountable manufacturers, distributors, and now nationwide pharmacies,” said AG Jennings.

 When asked about the rise in threats of violence against elected officials and democracy that have been fueled by Donald Trump and far-right extremists, Delaware AG Jennings stated, “[…] Look at what happened to Governor Whitmer and our colleague and friend, [Michigan] AG Dana Nessel. This is entirely unacceptable.” She continued, “We can take measures to protect ourselves, but I worry about ordinary citizens who want to express their right to vote. The right to vote is the most fundamental right we have in this country. Every other right depends upon it. And it is important for Attorneys General, each one of us, to stand up against hate, to prosecute people who commit hate crimes, and to make sure everyone in our states is safe and secure when exercising that most fundamental right.”

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