DENVER -  Today, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration suspended the FDA’s approval of the drug Mifepristone. The Texas ruling will not take effect for seven days to give the federal government the opportunity to appeal the cruel ruling. Mifepristone is safely used in combination with another drug, Misoprostol, for medication abortion and may also be used for the management of early pregnancy loss. Additionally, the ability to access this drug in Colorado is preserved by a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in State of Washington v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which the state of Colorado joined.  

Governor Jared Polis is pro-freedom, is committed to defending safe access to reproductive health care, and released the following statement today:

“Here in Colorado, we value individual freedom. Today’s cruel ruling from Texas is an attack on freedom, putting people’s health and safety at risk by preventing doctors from providing a full range of safe reproductive health services. Colorado will continue to protect freedom and the ability to make private medical decisions without the government getting in the way,” said Governor Polis. “I applaud the Washington court for ruling in favor of freedom, and protecting access to medicine in 12 states, including Colorado.”

Last year, Gov. Polis signed into law the Reproductive Health Equity Act, which codifies protections to ensure that abortion and choice remain legal in Colorado and Governor Polis issued an Executive Order which directs state agencies and departments managed by Governor-appointed executives to protect access to reproductive health care in Colorado within their authority under the law. In February,  Governor Polis joined the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, a non-partisan coalition of 21 Governors committed to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom in their states, the largest such coalition ever convened. The administration also issued a bulletin today.