After a judge in Texas issued a ruling that blocked the FDA’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire is calling on state leaders to intervene and protect access to abortion in the state. 

Coinciding with the Texas ruling, a federal judge in Washington prohibited the FDA from altering the availability of mifepristone. For the plaintiffs in the case, which includes 17 states and Washington D.C., this protects access to the drug. 

New Hampshire is not one of those states. 

“We urge Governor Sununu to put action behind his stated concern and move to intervene in the Washington lawsuit, which would seek to allow Granite Staters to receive the same court protections as the states currently involved in the lawsuit,” said Devon Chaffee, Executive Director of the ACLU of New Hampshire. 

Although abortion remains safe and legal in the state, for up to 24 weeks under current law, mifepristone is one of two drugs commonly used to terminate pregnancies. 

A two-drug combination, of mifepristone and misoprostol, comprise a medication abortion. According to Planned Parenthood in Northern New England, 70 percent of their patients opt for this type of abortion. 

Medication abortions are still possible with only misoprostol, but it is slightly less effective and more uncomfortable for a patient. 

With just misoprostol, patients can expect side effects to last longer due to the need to take multiple doses of the medication, according to the Society of Family Planning, a nonprofit that specializes in abortion and contraception science. 

In states like Massachusets, Connecticut and Washington, governors have ordered purchases of mifepristone to create a stockpile if access to the drug is restricted. 

In Massachusetts, 15,000 doses were purchased by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, to ensure the drug is available for the next year. Governor Maura Healey also announced she was allocating $1 million to support providers who are contracted with the Department of Health to pay for these doses. 

Now the ACLU is asking Sununu and Attorney General John Formella to protect access to mifepristone, through the Washington lawsuit. 

This call for action comes at a time where Republican state senators voted against two abortion-related bills this week in committee. One would have protected the right to an abortion up to 24 weeks in state law, while the other would have repealed the civil and criminal penalties for doctors in violation of the state’s abortion ban. 

The full Senate will vote on both bills Thursday, although state Senators have already voted down a version of the bill to codify rights into law earlier this session. 

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