CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN REINTRODUCES HIS “PROTECTING REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM ACT” AMID ONGOING ATTEMPTS TO RESTRICT MIFEPRISTONE ACCESS

Congressman Pat Ryan Reintroduces His "Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act" Amid Ongoing Attempts to Restrict Mifepristone Access

This week, the Supreme Court paused a lower court's ruling, temporarily preserving access to lifesaving abortion medication which has been approved by the FDA for more than 20 years

With legal and political challenges threatening access to mifepristone, Congressman Ryan's bill reaffirms that a scientific FDA - not extremist courts or politicians - has ultimate approval authority

Ryan last introduced this legislation when his NY-18 constituent Dr. Maggie Carpenter was sued by Texas AG Ken Paxton for prescribing mifepristone via telehealth

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congressman Pat Ryan re-introduced the Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act, which would reaffirm that a non-political, scientific Food and Drug Administration (FDA), not extremist courts or politicians, has clear and pre-emptive authority to regulate abortion medication, including mifepristone.

The introduction follows action from the Supreme Court this week, temporarily striking down a Louisiana lower court ruling restricting access to mifepristone, which has been approved by the FDA for more than two decades. As the future of abortion medication access remains in flux, Ryan's bill permanently affirms that the FDA - not extremist courts or politicians - has ultimate approval authority.

Ryan last introduced the Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act when his friend and NY-18 constituent Dr. Maggie Carpenter was sued by Texas AG Ken Paxton for prescribing mifepristone via telehealth, in violation of a Texas state ban that has since been unanimously overruled by the United States Supreme Court.

In addition to protecting access to life-saving medication for women across the country, Ryan's bill would also protect doctors' ability to prescribe medication abortion via telehealth. The bill is endorsed by Planned Parenthood and Reproductive Freedom For All.

"I risked my life in combat to protect fundamental American freedoms. That includes a woman's right to choose. These deeply personal and private medical decisions should be made by women, their health care providers, and their families, not by extremist judges or politicians," said Congressman Pat Ryan. "Mifepristone is a safe and effective medication that has been prescribed by doctors for more than two decades. These efforts to undermine the safety of abortion medication have nothing to do with science or medicine and everything to do with radical groups whose only goal is a national abortion ban. This legislation ensures we not only protect abortion access for women in New York and across the country but also the doctors who use telemedicine to prescribe medication abortion."

Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju said "The Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act could not come at a more critical time, as the Fifth Circuit continues its push to gut telehealth access to mifepristone and Trump and his allies intensify their attacks on medication abortion access from every angle. Mifepristone is one of the safest, most effective medications on the market. We're thankful for Congressman Ryan's leadership on this vital piece of legislation to ensure patients and providers can make decisions based on science and health-not politics."

"As political attacks against mifepristone and telemedicine abortion access continue, federal action is urgently needed to keep medication abortion available to patients and out of the hands of the courts and politicians. Mifepristone is an incredibly safe, evidence-based, and reliable medication that has been widely used for more than 25 years. More than 7.5 million patients have used Mifepristone since it was FDA approved in 2000 - and it must remain accessible," said Lizzy Hinkley, Legal Director, Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. "On behalf of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, I'm incredibly grateful to Congressman Pat Ryan for reintroducing the Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act. This critical legislation would place medical matters back where they belong: in the hands of doctors and an independent FDA, not at the whims of partisan judges and extremist politicians. The whiplash of the last week only proves that we need to cement medication abortion access permanently - the exact intent of the Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act."

Medication abortion accounts for over half of all abortion care in the United States. This process often involves a two-dose regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone was deemed safe and approved by the FDA in 2000, and is approved for up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. Rep. Ryan first introduced this legislation in the 117th Congress in an effort to preempt a wave of restrictive state laws enacted in response to the Dobbs decision. Last Congress, the bill asserted that the FDA's scientists, not activist courts, have the power to decide what medications are safe and effective. Rep. Ryan's bill now reaffirms that the FDA has already rightfully approved this drug and works to safeguard healthcare providers' ability to prescribe medication abortion via telehealth.

"Abortion saved my life and allowed me to plan the family I have," said Laura Nordstrom, a NY-18 resident. "Agency over your body, your future and your dreams should not be limited to what state you live in. Women around the country are fighting to protect each other, offering safe havens, rides, and funds to ensure they get the care they want and need. This will help so many women get access to vital care in places where states are putting extreme politics over healthcare."

Congressman Ryan is an outspoken champion for reproductive health care and abortion rights. He is a Member of the Pro-Choice Caucus in the House of Representatives, a group of Members of Congress working to preserve, protect and advance policies that ensure reproductive autonomy. Ryan is a co-sponsor of the Women's Health Protection Act, which would create a statutory right for health care providers to provide abortion care and for patients to receive that care, the EACH Act, which requires federal health care programs to provide coverage for abortion services and requires federal facilities to provide access to those services, and the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, which protects the constitutional right to travel across state lines, including for reproductive health care.

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