Earlier today, New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer introduced new legislation: the freedom to decide act, a bill that, if passed, would protect prescriptions for abortion pills issued across state lines.
Endorsed by Planned Parenthood, Naral Pro-Choice America, the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), and the Center for Reproductive Rights, the bill is intended to codify access across the country, and ensure that states like California can continue to act as so-called “safe havens” that issue abortion care from afar. The state recently secured a stockpile of 2m abortion pills in response to the ruling to block mifepristone.
Today, I'm leading and introducing the Freedom to Decide Act w/ @RepJasmine & @RepAngieCraig to protect doctor-prescribed access to the abortion pill mifepristone & to support telemedicine across state lines.
— Rep Josh Gottheimer (@RepJoshG) April 14, 2023
Endorsed by @PPact, @NARAL, @NWLC & @ReproRights — read our bill here: pic.twitter.com/tKWicRGrqE
“The freedom to decide act affirms what we all know,” Gottheimer wrote on Twitter announcing the bill. “Access to mifepristone does not violate federal law and it is essential to protecting the fundamental right for all women to make personal, private health care decisions about their own bodies, lives, and futures.”
Highlighting that the pill has been available for more than 2 decades and circulates in roughly 80 countries, the legislators behind the bill emphasized its safety record even when prescribed via telemedicine.
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The ruling from Alito, a conservative justice, has ensured access to the drug will continue – for now. Set to be pulled from the shelves at midnight tonight, the drug will continue to be available until another order from the supreme court comes through.
“All this essentially stops the clock this weekend,” Chuck Todd of Meet the Press said, explaining that it will essentially shut down both the stay and the original Texas ruling for the time being. “But it still could go into effect at a later point.”
Alito also wrote last year’s ruling that left abortion access up to individual states, eliminating rights established by the Roe v Wade decision. Since then, 12 US states have banned abortions while several others added new limits.
You can read more about the ruling here:
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