RICHMOND, VA – Last night, a federal judge in Texas suspended FDA approval of the drug mifepristone, the medication which is used in more than half of all abortions in the United States.

US District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, a Donald Trump appointee, agreed with conservative activists who were seeking to reverse the FDA’s approval of mifepristone as safe and effective, including in states where abortion rights are protected – like Virginia.

After the Texas judge’s banning of the safe and effective mifepristone pill in Virginia, DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker issued the following statement:

“Because of the actions of one Trump-appointed Texas judge, Virginians’ ability to access life-saving healthcare has just become more difficult.

Let me be clear about two things. First, mifepristone is a safe and effective treatment, one that has been trusted by hundreds of thousands of women – and the FDA – for decades. Second, Healthcare decisions should be made by a woman and her doctor, not a MAGA judge.

Yesterday’s ruling makes it crystal clear: that the only way we can protect women, their access to healthcare, and their reproductive freedom is if all of us join together to retake the House of Delegates and expand our majority in the Virginia Senate this November. It's on us to defend their rights.”

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