Ranking Member Raskin’s Statement on Fifth Circuit Court Decision on Abortion Access

Washington, D.C. (August 16, 2023)—Today, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, issued the following statement on the decision by the United States U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to restrict access to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approved abortion medication:

"Today's panel decision in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upholding restrictions on mifepristone, a key drug used in medication abortion, deepens our national crisis with right-wing judicial activism. Following a runaway anti-choice district judge, the Fifth Circuit has substituted its own judgment for the regulatory expertise of the FDA, defying decades of clear scientific evidence and expert medical opinion. This decision limits the use of mifepristone to the initial seven weeks of pregnancy—before many women even know they're pregnant—and undercuts the right of millions of American women to choose their own medical care. If allowed to take effect after appeal, this decision will restrict safe abortion access for all women, and in particular those who already face health inequities such as people of color and people with less income and wealth."

On July 17, 2023, Committee Democrats held a roundtable with advocates, experts and providers to examine the consequences of continued attempts to restrict abortion access, including in states where abortion is legal, as part of Republican efforts to impose a national abortion ban. During the 117th Congress, the Oversight Committee held three hearings examining the harm of state abortion bans and restrictions and the threat of a Republican national abortion ban.