Statement by National NOW President Christian F. Nunes
The fight is on to save medication abortion. The time is now.
A lawsuit in Texas, heard before one of the most conservative judges ever appointed by Donald Trump, could lead to an immediate ban on a key drug used in medication abortions—the method used in more than half of abortion care in the U.S.
A lawsuit filed by anti-abortion groups and doctors, and represented by the Alliance for Defending Freedom (ADF)– designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center–seeks to revoke the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortion.
According to NARAL, 40 million women would immediately lose access to abortion care if Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk grants an injunction to halt the sale and distribution of mifepristone nationwide.
Once again, this attack on bodily autonomy is being disguised as a way of protecting women’s health—it is not. It is only about the power politicians want to keep over women’s bodies, health, and future.
They want to keep women from accessing abortion care in a doctor’s office, a clinic, a hospital, or in their own homes. But NOW members won’t let them succeed. Medication abortion is safe, effective, and necessary—and these attacks are based on junk science, power grabs, and lies.
Already, we’ve seen fierce backlash against this lawsuit with hundreds of pro-choice advocates protesting in the streets of Amarillo, in front of the courthouse where the case will be decided. As NOW members, we must mobilize our communities to amplify their voices and join them in solidarity to fight for reproductive freedom and women’s health. We’re ready for the Texas court ruling, and what comes next.
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The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the nation’s leading membership-based advocacy group dedicated to defending women’s rights, advancing equality and combating injustice in all aspects of social, political and economic life. Through educating, mobilizing, and convening a vast network of grassroots activists across the country, NOW advocates for national, state and local policies that promote an anti-racist and intersectional feminist agenda. Since its founding in 1966, NOW has been on the frontlines of nearly every major advancement for women’s rights and continues to champion progressive values today. More about NOW’s efforts and resources is available at NOW.org.