The entire Senate Democratic caucus will introduce a resolution Thursday asserting that the abortion pill mifepristone is safe and effective ahead of a Supreme Court ruling that could threaten access across the country.
The resolution, shared exclusively with HuffPost, states that “over 25 years of real-world evidence and hundreds of peer-reviewed studies [prove] that mifepristone is safe and effective should be respected.”
Although the resolution is not binding, it’s a formal expression of all 45 Democratic senators’ opinion on the ongoing attacks against mifepristone, one of two abortion pills that anti-choice lawmakers and advocates have set their sights on since the repeal of Roe v. Wade. The caucus includes 45 Democratic senators and two Independents.
A federal appeals court handed down a decision in Louisiana v. FDA on May 1 that temporarily banned the mailing of mifepristone and required that the abortion pill be distributed only in person and at clinics. The Supreme Court issued a stay on the ruling three days later, restoring access last week. Senate Democrats’ resolution comes hours before the high court’s stated deadline for the extended stay on Thursday at 5 p.m. Eastern.
“We should not be one court ruling away from millions of women losing access to safe, effective medication that the FDA approved over two decades ago,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the resolution lead, told HuffPost. “While Republicans use junk science to try to march us toward a full-on nationwide abortion ban, Democrats will not stop fighting to protect reproductive freedom for women everywhere.”
