County of Santa Clara Urges U.S. Supreme Court to Reverse Lower Court Decision That Would Restrict Access to FDA-approved Abortion Medication
The lower court’s decision would make it harder for patients across the nation to get mifepristone, a pill approved by the FDA that has been used safely and effectively for decades
SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIF. – Today, the County of Santa Clara filed a brief in the United States Supreme Court, co-authored with the City of New York, that seeks to protect Americans’ access to mifepristone, a pill that patients have used for decades to safely and effectively terminate their pregnancies or manage miscarriages. The brief is the most recent in a series of briefs that the County has filed in this litigation, building on its longstanding commitment to defending and championing reproductive rights.
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a federal district court in Texas issued a ruling in April 2023 blocking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone, which is used to end a pregnancy. The district court’s ruling second-guessed the FDA’s expert scientific judgment regarding prescription drug safety and effectiveness, blocking the FDA’s approval of mifepristone and several later FDA actions. The FDA challenged the order and won a temporary stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, ensuring that patient access to the drug remains unchanged while the FDA’s appeal makes its way through the courts.
The appeal has now made its way back to the U.S. Supreme Court. While the temporary stay has been in place, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided not to invalidate the FDA’s approval of mifepristone but blocked later FDA regulations that made it easier for patients to access mifepristone. On December 13, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court granted review of the Fifth Circuit’s decision.
The County’s amicus brief urges the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the Fifth Circuit’s decision. It explains how a roll-back in access to mifepristone would burden already overwhelmed public hospitals, expose patients to unnecessary risks and delays in care, and threaten to undermine trust in public health-care systems more broadly, resulting in harm to the wellbeing of the community.
“The Fifth Circuit’s decision is a troubling attempt to turn back the clock on reproductive freedom,” said Santa Clara County Counsel Tony LoPresti. “The County of Santa Clara is committed to protecting and furthering reproductive health and freedom and will continue to defend those rights in court.”
The County and New York City’s amicus brief is joined by four other localities around the nation that also operate major public healthcare systems: the County of Los Angeles; the City and County of San Francisco; King County, Washington; and Cook County, Illinois.
The case is U.S. Food and Drug Administration, et al. v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, et al., Case Nos. 23-235 & 23-236 (S. Ct.), No. 23-10362 (5th Cir.), No. 2:22-cv-223 (N.D. Tex.).
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About the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office
The Office of the County Counsel serves as legal counsel to the County, its Board of Supervisors and elected officials, every County department and agency, and the County’s boards and commissions. With a staff of over 250, the Office is also responsible for all civil litigation involving the County and its officers.
About the Social Justice and Impact Litigation Section
The Social Justice and Impact Litigation Section within the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office litigates high-impact cases, drafts innovative local ordinances, and develops new policies and programs to advance the County’s goal of achieving social and economic justice for all its residents. The Section also defends the County in select cases with the potential to significantly affect the County’s ability to provide critical safety net services to vulnerable residents. The Section is part of a movement to use the power and unique perspective of local government to better serve the community and to drive long-lasting change at the local, state, and national levels.
About the County of Santa Clara, California
The County of Santa Clara government serves a diverse, multi-cultural population of 1.9 million residents in Santa Clara County, California, making it more populous than 14 states in the U.S. The County provides essential services to its residents, including public health protection, environmental stewardship, medical services through the County of Santa Clara Health System, child and adult protection services, homelessness prevention and solutions, roads, park services, libraries, emergency response to disasters, protection of minority communities and those under threat, access to a fair criminal justice system, and many other public benefits.
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Contact: Tony LoPresti, County of Santa Clara Office of the County Counsel, (408) 299-5902