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| Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee (D) |
Inslee directed the Department of Corrections to order the doses using its pharmacy license. The pills arrived in Washington on March 31, costing the state $1.28 million. The University of Washington purchased an additional 10,000 pills.
Inslee ordered the mifepristone to prepare for a potential decision from Texas federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who is overseeing a challenge to the mifepristone's FDA approval.
“This Texas lawsuit is a clear and present danger to patients and providers all across the country,” Inslee said. “Washington will not sit by idly and risk the devastating consequences of inaction. We are not afraid to take action to protect our rights. Washington is a pro-choice state and no Texas judge will order us otherwise.”
Inslee says that the pills will continue to be available in Washington regardless of Kacsmaryk's decision.
The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM) filed the lawsuit challenging mifepristone's FDA approval in November of 2022. It represents groups of pro-life doctors from the American College of Pediatricians, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Christian Medical & Dental Associations. AHM's lawsuit accuses the FDA of “illegally approving chemical abortion drugs that harm women and girls.”
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is representing AHM in this case. ADF senior counsel Erik Baptist argued that President Bill Clinton's executive order fast-tracking the FDA approval of mifepristone exploited the approval system. “To add to this problem,” Baptist said, “the FDA did not have any evidence or studies on the potential harms of the drug regimen before approving it.”
