Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said on May 4 that she is relieved after the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily restored access to Mifepristone, a medication used for abortion care. The statement follows a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that would have reinstated an in-person dispensing requirement for Mifepristone, despite evidence it can be safely provided through telehealth.
Nessel joined a coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia in filing an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to stay the lower court’s decision. She said, “For more than 25 years, Mifepristone has been used safely and effectively in the United States and globally. It is part of the most common method for early-term abortion care in the United States and is the standard for treating early miscarriages. Let me be clear, the decision from the Fifth Circuit is not based in fact, science, or medicine; it is based on politics. The result would have been disastrous to women’s health, creating unnecessary barriers for women seeking maternity health care, especially those in rural America who don’t have access to obstetrics clinics or hospitals. I am relieved that the U.S. Supreme Court acted quickly to stay this decision, and I will continue to stand with women in Michigan and across the nation.”
Mifepristone has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration since 2000 as part of a two-drug regimen with misoprostol for terminating pregnancies up to ten weeks gestation. According to information released by Nessel’s office, about 7.5 million people nationwide have used Mifepristone safely since its approval.
In recent years, regulatory changes allowed patients greater access through telehealth services rather than requiring them to appear at clinics or hospitals in person—a shift accelerated during COVID-19 when studies confirmed safety without face-to-face visits.
A Michigan Senate Fiscal Analysis completed last year found that nearly one quarter of counties are considered maternity care deserts—areas lacking obstetric providers or facilities—with about 32,000 women living without local maternity resources.
Nessel was joined by attorneys general from several other states including New York (which led today’s brief), California, Massachusetts, Washington State as well as others across different regions.
