Internal Medicine Physicians Relieved by Supreme Court Decision to Delay Revoking Mifepristone

Statement attributable to:
Ryan D. Mire, MD, MACP
President, ACP

WASHINGTON April 21, 2023 – The American College of Physicians (ACP) is relieved by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling today that allows the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone to be kept in place while the case about its approval winds through the court system. 

Over its decades of use in this country, mifepristone has been demonstrated to be safe and effective, with an extremely low rate of major complications. ACP strongly believes that prescription drugs used for reproductive health purposes should not be subject to more stringent access or distribution rules than drugs used for other purposes that have comparable safety and risk profiles.  Revoking mifepristone’s approval would be substituting the legal opinion of a federal judge for the medical and scientific knowledge of experts dedicated to evaluating the safety of pharmaceuticals, setting a troubling precedent. Our patients need to be able to access appropriate, evidence-based medical care, including the full range of reproductive health care services, without undue political interference.

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About the American College of Physicians

The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 160,000 internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Contact: Jacquelyn Blaser, (202) 261-4572, jblaser@acponline.org