Columbus, OH — The following statement was issued today by Dr. Marcela Azevedo, Dr. Lauren Beene, Dr. Nancy Li, and Dr. Aziza Wahby, executive leadership of Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights regarding the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that blocks implementation of a lower court order that revoked FDA approval of mifepristone:
“While we are relieved that mifepristone will remain available to doctors and patients for medication abortion and miscarriage management as the case makes its way through courts, we are deeply disappointed and dismayed by the 5th Circuit’s decision to restrict access to this scientifically proven, time tested, safe, and effective medication by allowing unwarranted restrictions on its use and distribution imposed by anti-abortion District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk to stand.
Decisions about reproductive health care should and must be made by patients and their physicians, not the anti-abortion lobby, extreme politicians or activist judges appointed by those politicians. That is why we have proposed a constitutional amendment that will enable Ohioans to determine the future of reproductive rights in our state.
Those who applaud federal and state court actions that ban or restrict abortion are the same people who oppose our ballot issue. They will not deter or prevent us or the vast majority of Ohioans who support us from enshrining reproductive rights and access to safe, legal abortion care in the Ohio Constitution.
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About Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights and Protect Choice Ohio
Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights (OPRR) and its grassroots network, Protect Choice Ohio, is a coalition of more than 2,000 Ohio physicians, allied medical professionals, business leaders, and other non-partisan advocates that are mobilizing to ensure patients throughout Ohio have access to safe, legal, equitable, and comprehensive reproductive medical care including abortion for all Ohioans and to protect the doctor-patient relationship from government interference so that people can make their own reproductive health care decisions. Visit ProtectChoiceOhio.com for more information.