Americans United for Separation of Church and State President and CEO Rachel Laser issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine regarding mifepristone access:
“Today, religious extremists suffered a setback in their quest to force all of us to live by their narrow beliefs. The Supreme Court’s decision to deny standing to anti-abortion activists and leave in place the FDA’s approval of mifepristone is not only a welcome victory for abortion access, but also for the separation of church and state. If America is to make good on its promise of religious freedom, each of us must be free to make our own decisions about our own bodies based on our own beliefs. ”
“This mifepristone case was a textbook example of how Christian Nationalist groups manufacture these cases in an effort to strip people’s rights. Alliance Defending Freedom brought this case before a friendly judge, who previously worked for First Liberty Institute. ADF was supported by a slew of anti-abortion organizations, from Family Research Council to American Center for Law and Justice.
“Even as we celebrate the Supreme Court’s decision today, we know reproductive rights remain at risk across the country, thanks in large part to the ultra-conservative justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. It’s on the Project 2025 agenda to revoke FDA approval of mifepristone, among many other attacks on abortion, contraceptives, LGBTQ+ equality and democracy. We need a national recommitment to the separation of church and state. It’s the shield that protects freedom without favor and equality without exception for all of us.”
Americans United joined nearly 240 reproductive rights, civil rights, religious and other social justice organizations in filing an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to protect access to mifepristone. The brief stressed that more than 20 years of evidence supported the FDA’s conclusion that medication abortion with mifepristone is safe and effective. The groups asserted that the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ unprecedented decision to severely restrict access to mifepristone imperils the health and safety of millions of people.
More information about the case is available here.
Americans United is a religious freedom advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, AU educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
Liz Hayes
Associate Vice President of Communications
[email protected]
