New York, CA, NJ, MA Attorneys General Urge FDA to Ease Abortion Pill Restrictions

Attorneys general from New York, California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey have jointly petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) restrictions on the abortion medication mifepristone, arguing that these regulations are outdated, medically unnecessary, and limit access to a safe and essential medication. The petition comes amid an FDA review of mifepristone’s labeling requirements, initiated by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who directed the FDA to reconsider the drug's restrictions. The coalition highlights mifepristone’s 25-year safety record, its inclusion on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines, and the fact that medication abortions now account for the majority of U.S. abortions. They argue that the REMS program imposes burdensome requirements such as prescriber certification and patient attestations that discourage prescribing and create barriers, especially in rural areas. The attorneys general emphasize that other medications with higher risk profiles do not face similar restrictions and assert that the FDA’s current rules do not enhance patient safety but instead restrict reproductive freedom. This effort reflects ongoing tensions over abortion access in the U.S. under President Donald Trump's administration, which has largely aligned with abortion opponents, even as some states maintain strict abortion bans.