On Wednesday Attorney General William Tong issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear a case that could determine whether a Texas court will be allowed to impose outdated and medically unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone, a medication that millions of women have safely used for abortion care.
“Medication abortion is safe, legal and accessible in Connecticut right now and I will fight like hell to keep it that way. Radical politicians and their extreme views have no place in patients’ reproductive health decisions. Healthcare and abortion decisions are a matter for a patient and their doctor. That is non-negotiable,” Attorney General Tong said.
Wednesday’s decision by the Supreme Court does not change the availability of abortion care – including medication abortion – in Connecticut.
Earlier this year, Attorney General Tong took up the fight to protect medication abortion access by challenging unnecessary and burdensome mifepristone restrictions in a lawsuit filed in Washington State district court.
Since 2000 when the Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone as a single-dose oral medication used for early-term abortions, it has safely been used by about five million people to terminate pregnancy and manage miscarriages, and is used in more than half of all abortions today. In 2021, there were 9,562 abortions performed in Connecticut. Of those, nearly 64 percent were medication abortion using mifepristone. Years of research have continued to prove mifepristone’s safety and efficacy.
Since last year’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Attorney General Tong has led and joined numerous efforts to protect abortion rights, including joining a multistate coalition in filing an amicus brief in the Texas case to defend safe access to medication abortion.
Attorney General Tong also created the position of Special Counsel for Reproductive Rights within the Office of the Attorney General to protect abortion access and reproductive care both in Connecticut and anywhere those rights are challenged across the country.
The State of Connecticut also joined with New York last year to launch a hotline for free legal guidance on reproductive health care for individuals and providers. To get legal assistance, call the abortion rights legal hotline at (212) 899-5567 or visit Portal.CT.Gov/ReproductiveRights to know your abortion rights in Connecticut.