Remarques sur l'arrêt de la Cour suprême des États-Unis dans l'affaire FDA contre Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine

NEW YORK, NY – The Supreme Court of the United States’ decision today in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine means that for now, medication abortion access in the U.S. will remain unchanged: Women and people who can become pregnant will continue to have access to mifepristone, a pill used for safe and effective medication abortions. However, we must acknowledge that residents of 14 U.S. states where abortion is banned in all circumstances will still not have access to this lifesaving medication.

Medication abortion care via mifepristone has a 20-year track record as a safe, effective, FDA-approved option for ending an early pregnancy and is included in the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines. Additionally, experts from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association agree that when medications used for abortion care are prescribed through telehealth and administered at home, it is just as safe as prescribing them in person. 

 According to The Guttmacher Institute, nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. in 2023 were medication abortions involving doses of mifepristone and misoprostol. Additionally, recent polling from Navigator Research found that 3 in 5 Americans say medication abortion should remain legal. 

 Fòs Feminista, our global partners, and other sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice (SRHRJ) advocates around the world know that bans and restrictions such as those sought by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine in this case do nothing to protect the health and well-being of people seeking abortion care, can put people’s lives at risk, and can have devastating effects on other reproductive health care including miscarriage treatment. We also know that the harm always falls hardest on those already facing unequal barriers to health care, especially women and girls who are young, poor, rural, immigrant, LGBTQ+, and women and girls of color. 

 In response to today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Giselle Carino, directrice générale de Fòs Feminista, a fait la déclaration suivante :

“Women, girls, and gender-diverse people worldwide rely on mifepristone as a safe medication for self-managing abortion, as do our partners who accompany them in accessing legal abortion care. Today we celebrate that people in the U.S. will not be cut off from accessing this important medication.  

 We also know that the decisions on SRHRJ rights in the U.S. have an impact around the world, as seen by the global impact of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs, so this is a hopeful day in our shared struggle to protect access to high quality safe abortion everywhere. 

The need for a reliable supply of abortion medications and contraceptives, among other reproductive health supplies, is why we established an initiative called INNOVA Health Supplies along with our partners. Through INNOVA, we have worked to innovate and develop new, more affordable ways to produce and deliver mifepristone, as well as other sexual and reproductive supplies, to meet the needs of people who live in areas of the Global South where abortion is legalized but difficult to access.” 

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Fòs Feminista est une alliance féministe internationale centrée sur la santé, les droits et la justice en matière de sexualité et de procréation pour les femmes, les jeunes filles et les personnes de sexe différent. Avec plus de 200 organisations locales à travers le monde, nous nous engageons dans les domaines de la santé, de l'éducation et de la défense des droits pour faire avancer notre programme. Il s'agit notamment de fournir des services de santé sexuelle et génésique et de mettre en œuvre des stratégies communautaires qui rendent les soins de santé sexuelle et génésique plus accessibles aux femmes, aux filles et aux autres personnes en marge de la société. Nous proposons également aux jeunes une éducation sexuelle complète et prodiguons des soins aux victimes de violences sexistes. Nous nous tenons aux côtés de nos partenaires dans la rue, devant les tribunaux et dans d'autres espaces de plaidoyer, en tant que voix féministe sans équivoque, résistant à l'injustice et plaidant pour l'égalité des sexes et les droits génésiques au niveau local et mondial.