Attorney General Bonta Joins Multistate Amicus Brief Protecting Access to Mifepristone

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Bryant v. Stein to protect mifepristone access in the state of North Carolina. In the brief, filed in United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the attorneys general strongly urge the Court to uphold the District Court's determination that North Carolina cannot impose restrictions on mifepristone access that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has explicitly determined are unnecessary to ensure patient safety.

"For decades, medication abortion has been recognized not only as effective, but so safe that it presents lower risks of serious complications than taking Tylenol or getting a colonoscopy," said Attorney General Bonta. "Restricting its availability not only undermines the rights of individuals but also creates unnecessary barriers to essential healthcare. That's why, I, alongside attorneys general nationwide are urging the Court to protect access to mifepristone for North Carolinians."

Mifepristone is a safe and effective medication prescribed to patients who need critical, time-sensitive reproductive care, including for abortions and the treatment of miscarriages. Studies show that medication abortion allows people to get reproductive care as early as possible when it is safest, least expensive, and least invasive. It plays an important role in reducing barriers and promoting equitable access to healthcare, particularly for those who live in rural and underserved communities.

In 2023, North Carolina revised its laws governing pregnancy termination by implementing several archaic restrictions around the use and distribution of mifepristone. These restrictions included physician-only prescribing; in-person prescribing, dispensing, and administering; the scheduling of in-person follow-up appointments; and non-fatal adverse event reporting to the FDA.

Ultimately, a North Carolina federal district court judge ruled that while the State may impose certain restrictions on abortion care, it cannot override the FDA's determination to remove these specific restrictions on mifepristone. The coalition's amicus brief defends the District Court's decision as striking the proper balance between state authority and FDA regulation.

In the brief, the attorneys general argue that mifepristone has been safely used as an integral part of reproductive healthcare for decades since its initial approval by the FDA, and over that period, the FDA has carefully balanced patient safety and access to the drug by removing certain restrictions on mifepristone distribution. Therefore, they argue that North Carolina's restrictions on mifepristone, which re-instate the same restrictions that the FDA has explicitly considered and removed, create unnecessary burdens to reproductive healthcare.

Attorney General Bonta joined the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

A copy of the brief can be found here.