Catholics for Choice Celebrates Actions of Pro-Choice Catholic Biden Administration to Make Abortion Pills More Accessible
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday December 16, 2021
Contact: John Becker, Communications Specialist
Phone: 202-203-0931
Email: jbecker@catholicsforchoice.org
Catholics for Choice Celebrates Actions of Pro-Choice Catholic Biden Administration to Make Abortion Pills More Accessible
WASHINGTON — Catholics for Choice, which uplifts and amplifies the voices of the majority of Catholics who believe in reproductive freedom, applauds today’s decision by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to update the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) for mifepristone. Mifepristone is used in early abortion and miscarriage care and had previously been the only drug required by the FDA to be dispensed in-person. Today’s decision by the FDA lifts that outdated requirement permanently, making mifepristone much more accessible to the people who need it.
In response to the FDA rule change, Catholics for Choice President Jamie L. Manson issued the following statement:
“I am grateful for today’s decision by the FDA, which moves us closer to making abortion pills accessible to all who need them. Data shows that medication abortion is highly effective and safe, and lifting restrictions on mifepristone is supported by organizations like the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Catholics for Choice applauds pro-choice Catholic leaders President Joe Biden and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra for their leadership in making this decision grounded in science and doctors, not doctrine.
“As a faith-based reproductive rights organization, we know a religiously motivated fight when we see one. We have no doubt that the medically unnecessary policy restricting mifepristone – the only drug out of more than 20,000 approved by the FDA with such requirements for monitoring and distribution, some of which still remain in place – was influenced by religious forces who desire nothing more than to control women’s bodies and deny the humanity of all people who seek abortion care.
“Looking ahead to the future of religious freedom and abortion, Catholics for Choice is focused on access. Catholic social justice calls us to have a preferential option for the most vulnerable among us, and we know that restrictions on abortion disproportionately affect marginalized communities, like communities of color and low-income folks, and make it more difficult for them to access the abortion care that they need. Lifting restrictions on mifepristone makes early abortion and miscarriage care much more accessible, and that is an undeniably good thing. Catholics for Choice refuses to let the extremist forces of the so-called Religious Right speak for all people of faith. We know that abortion access is an essential human right, and we’re grateful for the pro-choice Catholic leaders in this administration who made the reversal of unjustified policy possible.”
Catholics for Choice shapes and advances sexual and reproductive ethics that are based on justice, reflect a commitment to a person’s well-being and respect, and affirm the capacity of all people to make moral decisions about their lives.