SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that California will stockpile an emergency supply of 2 million abortion pills known as misoprostol in response to a federal judge in Texas ruling against the authorization of another medication that has been used to terminate pregnancies for decades.
“In response to this extremist ban on a medication abortion drug, our state has secured a stockpile of an alternative medication abortion drug to ensure that Californians continue to have access to safe reproductive health treatments,” Newsom said in a statement. “We will not cave to extremists who are trying to outlaw these critical abortion services. Medication abortion remains legal in California.”
The announcement follows U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling Friday that aims to nullify the federal Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, an abortion medication that has helped millions of women to medically end their early pregnancies. The judge gave seven days for the ruling to go into effect, and the Biden administration is appealing the decision.
