FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Doctors for America
PO Box 53313
1921 Florida Ave NW
Washington, DC 20009-9997
February 13, 2023
Doctors for America’s FDA Task Force Files Amicus Brief to Protect Patients’ Access to Medication Abortion
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Doctors for America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Task Force filed an amicus brief in support of FDA’s approval of the use of mifepristone to end pregnancy through ten weeks gestation.
The brief, filed in the case of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA in the Amarillo division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern Division of Texas,
“In the amicus brief filed by Doctors for America are the experiences of our physician members across specialities demonstrating the potential of this case to restrict the ability of clinicians across the country in practicing evidence-based care for their patient, says Dr. Meghana Rao, Obstetrician-Gynecologist and Board Chair for Doctors for America. “Clinicians like me should be able to discuss and prescribe all safe and effective treatment options with their patients based on what is best for their individual scenario, not based on politics.”
Mifepristone has been proven safe and effective, with research showing that adverse events and outcomes are exceedingly rare, occurring in less than a fraction of 1% of cases. The lawsuit filed by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine against the FDA is a political effort to eliminate access to medication that has been safely utilized by patients for over two decades. DFA is asking the American justice system to put patients over politics, and science over convictions when considering this case.
As stated in the filed brief, an injunction that withdraws or suspends the approval of mifepristone would disrupt medical practice nationwide, including care for conditions beyond induced abortion, such as the management of early pregnancy loss.
The brief was filed by Columbia Law School’s Science, Health & Information Clinic (SHIC), which provides pro bono legal help to DFA. Columbia Law student attorneys Emily Davidson and Matt Tracy led work on the brief, with support from student attorney Jae Hyun Lee, SHIC Director Christopher Morten, and Thomas Leatherbury.
To read the full brief filed in the case of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA here.
For press inquiries for members of the FDA Task Force Doctors for America or with physician members willing to speak on this issue please contact Claire Onyechi with Continuum Health Group ([email protected]).
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About Doctors for America:
Doctors for America mobilizes doctors and medical students to be leaders in putting patients over politics to improve the health of our patients, communities, and nation. We are 27,000 physicians and medical students in all 50 states, representing all areas of specialization. Our impact areas focus on access to affordable care, community health and prevention, and health justice and equity. DFA focuses solely on what is best for our patients, not on the business side of medicine, and does not accept any funding from pharmaceutical or medical device companies; which uniquely positions DFA as the organization that puts patients over politics and patients over profits. Find out more at doctorsforamerica.org and on Twitter @drsforamerica.