Oregon secures 3 year supply of abortion drug mifepristone as Supreme Court decision pends
Gov. Tina Kotek announced Thursday that she ordered and secured a three-year supply of the abortion drug mifepristone for Oregon, following a Texas federal judge's ruling to revoke government approval of the drug.
Kotek's office said in a release that the state partnered with the Oregon Health and Science University to stockpile 22,500 dosages of mifepristone to "ensure that reproductive health providers across the state can maintain access and continue to provide patients with safe and effective miscarriage management and abortion care."
Kotek directed the agency to "explore all available avenues for ensuring continued access to reproductive health care" in the state before the ruling in the Texas case, according to an email from the Oregon Health Authority.
She directed OHA to move forward with securing mifepristone dosages last week, wrote OHA spokesperson Jonathan Modie.
Modie added that the cost was $40 per dose. Doses arrived on Thursday and are currently being stored at OHSU while the agency works with them for a longer-term storage and distribution plan according to Modie.
“Here in Oregon, I will make sure that patients are able to access the medication they need and providers are able to provide that medication without unnecessary, politically-motivated interference and intimidation,” Kotek said in the release. “To our providers, to the patients who live in Oregon or have been forced to come to our state for care, and to those who are helping people access the care they need, know that I have your back.”
The Food and Drug Administration first approved the drug in 2000. It is part of a two-step regimen to terminate pregnancies and is used in the management of miscarriages.
Kotek criticized the decision by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk soon after it was announced. She repeated her disapproval Thursday, calling the lawsuit "meritless" and part of a "larger campaign to ban abortion in every state, including those with legal protections for abortion access."
"We cannot afford to stand by and watch our fundamental right to reproductive health care be stripped away," the first-term governor said.
The U.S. Department of Justice appealed the federal court ruling and on Wednesday, a stay on the drug's restriction was extended by the U.S Supreme Court until 11:59 p.m. Friday. Mifepristone remains available as the case moves through the federal court system.
Kotek also is directing state licensing boards to issue guidance clarifying that Oregon will support providers who prescribe, dispense and use the drug and other reproductive health care, according to the release.
And the governor will refuse non-fugitive extradition of individuals for criminal prosecution related to accessing or providing reproductive health services in the state, the release said.
Kotek also celebrated a ruling in Washington that was made shortly after Texas' decision.
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Oregon is not the first state to announce a stockpile of the drug pending a Supreme Court decision on the ruling.
Massachusetts governor Maura Healey announced that she had ordered the University of Massachusetts Amherst to purchase 15,000 dosages. In Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee announced ordering a three-year supply of the drug which arrived on March 31. And in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom secured an emergency stockpile of up to 2 million pills, he announced on April 10.
Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on Twitter @DianneLugo.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon secures 3 year supply of abortion drug mifepristone
