Massachusetts to stockpile abortion pill as legal dispute escalates

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey says her state has begun stockpiling the abortion pill in anticipation that a court-ordered injunction could pull it from the market.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Monday announced her state has begun stockpiling the abortion drug mifepristone ahead of a court-ordered injunction that could pull the drug from the market as early as Friday.

It's a dramatic escalation in the fight over abortion rights that's pitted red states versus blue, and emboldened Democrats to look for novel ways to defy the potential nationwide injunction slated to go into effect at the end of the week.

Under the governor's plan, Healy said the University of Massachusetts Amherst has already purchased 15,000 doses -- more than a year's worth of mifepristone for the state. Another $1 million from state coffers would be offered to Health care providers in the state to buy the drug before a nationwide injunction takes hold.

The governor also said she will sign an executive order noting that existing state law protect pharmacists and providers from criminal and civil legal liability if they continue to stock and dispense the drug.

"Here in Massachusetts, we are not going to let one extremist judge in Texas turn back the clock on this proven medication and restrict access to care in our state," Healey said in a statement released Monday. "The action we are taking today protects access to mifepristone in Massachusetts and protects patients, providers and pharmacists from liability."

PHOTO: Massachusetts Governor-elect Maura Healey goes over her speech inside the Governors Council Chamber before the Inauguration, Jan. 5,2023, in Boston.
Massachusetts Governor-elect Maura Healey goes over her speech inside the Governors Council Chamber before the Inauguration, Jan. 5,2023, in Boston.
Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

MORE: Federal judge bans abortion pill: What the ruling means for women across the country

The announcement follows Washington Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee's decision last week to purchase a three-year supply of the drug for that state.

The bulk buys follow a ruling last Friday from a Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas that would suspend the FDA's approval of mifepristone, the only drug specifically approved to end early pregnancies up to 10 weeks. The judge gave the Biden administration until this coming Friday to appeal with ruling, which it gave notice it would do late this past Friday.

The Biden administration is expected to ask the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday to put a hold on the judge's nationwide injunction while the case is being considered by the upper court. It's also expected that the case will eventually go to the Supreme Court.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Former Rep. Will Hurd announces he’s running for the GOP presidential nomination

Image
Will Hurd is running for president, he said on "CBS Mornings" on Thursday, joining a crowded field vying for the Republican primary nomination, including Trump Former Texas Rep. Will Hurd is running for president , he said Thursday, joining a field of more than a dozen candidates who are vying for the Republican primary nomination . "We live in complicated times and we need common sense," Hurd said on "CBS Mornings," pointing to what he called "generational, defining challenges" such as China's rising global influence and the economic drag from inflation. "To be frank, I'm pissed that we're not talking about these things. I'm pissed that our elected officials are telling us to hate our neighbors," he said. "I believe the Republican Party can be the party that talks about the future, not the past. We should be putting out a vision of how do we have unprecedented peace, how do we have a thriving economy?" he ...
Read more

Gas stove procedural defeat puts the fragility of McCarthy's speakership on full display

Image
The revolt of 11 Republicans to join Democrats in striking down a procedural first step on gas stove legislation shows the fragility of McCarthy's speakership. The gas stove debate is boiling over, but it's Kevin McCarthy's speakership that may have been burned. A procedural first step to take up GOP-backed legislation to prohibit the federal government from banning gas stove s failed Tuesday afternoon -- at the hands of 12 GOP lawmakers. It was merely the first opportunity for House Freedom Caucus members dissatisfied with McCarthy and President Joe Biden's debt limit deal to revolt publicly against the speaker, joining 208 Democrats to vote down the rule. MORE: Why debt ceiling bill is a major test of Kevin McCarthy's leadership While it may be wonky, this procedural hurdle puts the fragility of McCarthy's speakership on full display. "We're not going to live in the era of the imperial speaker anymore," GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz told reporters...
Read more

Biden says Putin is losing 'war in Iraq' -- not Ukraine -- in latest gaffe

Image
Twice in 24 hours Biden misspoke when discussing the Ukraine-Russia war. Twice in 24 hours President Joe Biden misspoke when discussing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, referring to it instead as the war "in Iraq." The first apparent gaffe occurred Tuesday when Biden was courting Democratic donors at a fundraiser in Chevy Chase, Maryland. "Think about this: If anybody told you -- and my staff wasn't so sure, either -- that we'd be able to bring all of Europe together in the onslaught on Iraq and get NATO to be completely united, I think they would have told you it's not likely," Biden said. "The one thing Putin counted on was being able to split NATO." MORE: Russian military leaders were aware of Prigozhin's mutiny plan: US officials The second mistake happened Wednesday as Biden departed Washington for Chicago, where he delivered a major speech on his economic philosophy. On the South Lawn, Biden was asked about whether Russia's V...
Read more