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The legal back-and-forth over a commonly used abortion pill has Whole Woman’s Health Alliance scrambling.
“We’re trying to be as clear as possible; let people know abortion is still legal in the majority of states in this country,” said Amy Hagstrom Miller, president and CEO of Whole Woman’s Health. “Texans can still have abortions in other states where they’re still legal, including New Mexico.”
Last year the abortion provider closed its Texas locations, including Fort Worth and McKinney, following the state’s near-total ban on abortion services and relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“Everybody we have seen in New Mexico has been from Texas, except one or two patients who came from Louisiana and Arizona,” Hagstrom Miller said.
Concern has now set in over the FDA’s longtime approval of medical abortion drug Mifepristone, which a federal judge in Amarillo who was appointed by former President Donald Trump all but banned this past week.
Overnight a federal appeals court blocked part of that ruling, declaring that women can still get the drug, but with restrictions — not by mail and only up to seven weeks into a pregnancy instead of 10.
“The Department of Justice in Washington appealed that Fifth Circuit decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, so it will likely move to a fast track to a final resolution,” said Call Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.
Jillson says she predicts the Supreme Court will likely keep the drug legal but reign in easy access. She says Republicans would pay a heavy political price if the drug is outlawed.
“We’ve got a presidential election coming up in 2024 and Republicans are really quite frightened of going into that election if there are no abortion services available in the U.S.,” Jillson said.
Until that day, Whole Woman’s Health says they’ll keep offering in-clinic abortions and abortion pills through the mail in New Mexico. Hagstrom Miller says they cannot legally mail the drug to residents in Texas.
“If you have an appointment, keep your appointment and that abortion is still available to those who need it,” Hagstrom Miller said.
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