CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN REINTRODUCES “THE PROTECTING REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM ACT” IN RESPONSE TO RADICAL TEXAS ABORTION DECISION
Congressman Pat Ryan Reintroduces “The Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act” in Response to Radical Texas Abortion Decision
In response to the US District Court’s ban on women accessing safe and legal medications prescribed by their doctors, Ryan’s bill would reaffirm FDA approval authority; protect doctors providing medication abortion via telehealth
If ban is upheld, women across the country, including in New York, would lose access to the most commonly used abortion medication
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, following the devastating decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, Congressman Pat Ryan and Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher re-introduced the “Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act,” which would reaffirm that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), not extremist courts, has clear and pre-emptive authority to regulate abortion medication. The bill would also protect doctors’ ability to prescribe medication abortion via telehealth for patients across the country. The bill is endorsed by Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America.
“A woman’s right to choose is one of our country’s foundational freedoms. These deeply personal and private medical decisions should be made by women and their families, not by extremist judges, courts, or politicians,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “Mifepristone is a safe and effective medication that has been prescribed by doctors during the over two decades since the FDA approved it. However, the Texas decision has nothing to do with science or medicine and everything to do with radical groups whose only goal is a national abortion ban. My priority is protecting abortion access for women in New York and across the country. This legislation will reaffirm the FDA's approval authority and protect doctors who use telemedicine to prescribe medication abortion.”
“Once again, Texas is at the epicenter of attacks on the health and freedom of Americans with the unprecedented district court decision which, if enforced, would be devastating to women and families across our country and to our established drug-approval system,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher. “It is critical that we do everything we can to preserve and protect the FDA’s authority to approve safe and effective medication, including abortion medication. I am glad to join Congressman Pat Ryan in introducing the Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act to protect access to mifepristone and to protect the health, dignity, and freedom of women and families across our country.”
“Medication abortion care with mifepristone has been a safe, effective, and FDA-approved option for decades, but with one extremist Trump-appointed judge’s ruling, it is now effectively banned—even in states where abortion access is explicitly protected,” said NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju. “Everyone needs to hear the truth, and it is so important for elected officials to set the record straight. We’re grateful to Reps. Ryan and Fletcher for standing with doctors, patients, and everyday Americans defending our freedom to make our own decisions about our bodies. Together with our allies, supporters, and Congressional champions, we will keep fighting until reproductive freedom for all is a reality.”
“Abortion access is under threat across the country – including access to medication abortion, a method that is safe, effective, and has been used by more than six million people since the FDA approved it more than 20 years ago,” said National Director of Legislative Affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America Georgeanne Usova. “The American public supports abortion access and we need lawmakers at every level of government fighting to help protect abortion rights. Resolutions like the Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act are part of our steps forward.”
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. Anticipating that radical groups would only be emboldened following the reversal of Roe, Congressman Ryan first introduced this legislation last year in an effort to preempt the very judicial overreach seen last week. Ryan is reintroducing the bill now to assert that the FDA, not extremist courts, should be responsible for determining the safety and efficacy of medicine.
“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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