Washington, DC — Today, New York AG Letitia James and Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum spoke at a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court in support of protecting access to the abortion pill mifepristone. Meanwhile, inside the Court, oral arguments unfolded regarding access to mifepristone, which could have far-reaching implications on its availability nationwide. Democratic AGs have been on the frontlines of protecting access to abortion and fighting back in the courts while anti-abortion extremists have been working to dismantle what little access is left throughout the county.

AG James said at the rally, “Abortion must be safe, it must be legal, and it must be accessible to all. And a single judge cannot dismantle the entire country’s access to medication abortion. And we say hands off our bodies. […] We cannot allow anti-choice forces to make political decisions and ignore the facts, ignore the science, ignore the judgment of medical professionals — hell no.”

She continued, “[…] And this is what this is all about, control over our bodies. And they won’t stop here, unless all of us join together, shoulder-to-shoulder, arm-in-arm, and stand up to those anti-choice forces. That is why a coalition of [Democratic] Attorneys General […] will keep fighting to protect the right to abortion access and we will keep fighting against those forces who would strip away our rights and roll us back to the days where unfortunately we didn’t have a choice. But, we’re not going back. We will not allow our fundamental rights to be stripped away from any of us. And we will always fight to ensure that your health care choices are yours and yours alone, and nobody else’s.”

Credit: DAGA 

Following AG James, AG Rosenblum said, “Oregon is a sanctuary state for anyone who needs reproductive health care. We have strong laws that protect our providers and our patients, and I am here with you today in this fight to keep it that way. We will never give up, simply because there is no option. Our bodies are ours — no one else’s. And our decisions about our health care are our decisions — no one else’s.”

AG Rosenblum continued, “Without access, there is no freedom. […] Why on Earth would anyone, anyone want to make it harder to have a safer and earlier abortion or compromise safe miscarriage care. That’s why in February of 2023, along with 17 other states, I filed a federal lawsuit to preserve access to mifepristone. And so far, we’ve won. […] Let’s send this message loud and clear today, and always — we will not go backwards. Safe and accessible medication for early abortion is health care, and health care is a human right.”

Democratic Attorneys General have been at the forefront of protecting access to mifepristone since the start of this fight:

Oregon Capital Chronicle: Democratic attorneys general ask Supreme Court to allow current access to abortion pill

• “The Democratic attorneys general filed their brief in the case this week. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case on March 26.”
• “Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in a release on Wednesday that a decision to turn the clock back to 2016 would be wrong.”

New York Times: Reaction to Texas Abortion Pill Ruling: Outrage, and Muted Praise

• “In a statement, the co-chairs of the Democratic Attorneys General Association, Kathy Jennings of Delaware and Aaron Ford of Nevada, said: ‘While there are still unknown elements and effects of these rulings, rest assured: Democratic attorneys general will be on the front lines of the fight to protect abortion access in every corner of our country.’” 

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