At least three Democrat-run states have rushed to stockpile abortion pills in response to a ruling out of Texas on Friday halting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone, the first drug used in a two-drug medication abortion regimen.
The pro-abortion governors of California and Massachusetts announced their efforts to stockpile abortion pills on Monday, and the governor of Washington announced stockpiling efforts last week in anticipation of the ruling. Combined, the states will have enough abortion pills to end the lives of millions of unborn babies.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he secured two million doses of an abortion drug, misoprostol, to help women abort their unborn babies. Misoprostol is a drug that helps prevent stomach ulcers, but it is also the second drug used in medication abortions. Officials told NPR the state currently has 250,000 of the pills already on hand, which cost $100,000.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) said her state has stockpiled 15,000 mifepristone pills, which is roughly a year’s supply, according to Boston.com.
“Mifepristone is safe and effective. It’s been the gold standard for over two decades,” Healey said in a tweet. “We’re keeping it available in Massachusetts – no matter what some extremist, Trump-appointed judge in Texas says.”
Healey said the University of Massachusetts purchased the pills at her request, and she expects the doses to arrive this week. She also said she will issue an executive order “confirming protections for medication abortion, including mifepristone, under existing law.” The order will also reportedly direct state agencies to “help colleges and universities expedite the implementation of their medication abortion readiness plans.”
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said he ordered the state Department of Corrections to use its pharmacy license to purchase 30,000 doses of mifepristone, “an estimated three-year supply for patients in Washington State,” NPR reported. The state received the pills on March 31.
Inslee said the University of Washington additionally obtained 10,000 doses, which is roughly enough for a fourth year, or about enough for a fourth year.
“Inslee’s office says about 800 abortions per month, or 60 percent of abortions in the state, take place using pills,” according to the report.
In the process of a medication abortion, mifepristone is used to block the action of progesterone, which the mother’s body produces to nourish the pregnancy. When progesterone is blocked, the lining of the mother’s uterus deteriorates, and blood and nourishment are cut off to the developing baby, who then dies inside the mother’s womb. The drug misoprostol (also called Cytotec) then causes contractions and bleeding to expel the baby from the mother’s uterus.
The pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute found that mifepristone is used for more than half of all abortions in the United States. In 2020, the drug accounted for 53 percent of all abortions, up from 39 percent in 2017.
Related: CNN’s Abby Phillip Interrupts Republican Saying Abortion Pill Unsafe: ‘I Have to Stop You There’