Washington state stockpiles thousands of abortion pills ahead of ruling on FDA approval

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has stockpiled 30,000 abortion pill doses as an “insurance policy” against pro-lifers potentially winning a Texas lawsuit that seeks to overturn the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) initial approval of the drug.

Inslee announced on Tuesday the $1.28 million purchase of mifepristone would provide a three-year supply for the drug, which was used in 59% (9,060) of the state’s 15,358 abortions in 2021. 

The Department of Corrections purchased the drug with its pharmacy license and received the shipment on March 31. During a press conference, Inslee said that he was asking the state legislature to authorize the medication’s transfer to health facilities.

Another order of 10,000 doses was reportedly completed on March 29 for the University of Washington Medicine after Inslee’s request that the university make that purchase. In total, Inslee said, the state has a four-year supply of mifepristone based on the “existing level of usage.”

“This Texas lawsuit is a clear and present danger to patients and providers all across the country,” Inslee said. “Washington will not sit by idly and risk the devastating consequences of inaction. Washington is a pro-choice state and no Texas judge will order us otherwise.”

Inslee described stockpiling mifepristone as part of a strategy to challenge a “hydra-headed” attempt to protect preborn children and women’s health from the dangers of abortion.

Texas’ lawsuit alleges that the FDA failed to follow the proper process for initially approving the drug, which is currently under restricted use by certified pharmacies. At Tuesday’s press conference, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson noted that his own lawsuit, combined with Texas’, could create confusion surrounding the drug’s availability. In February, he announced that he and 16 other states were accusing the FDA of overly restricting the drug with its requirement for pharmacy certification. 

Announced in January, that rule goes beyond removing the in-person dispensing requirement The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians Gynecologists has said is necessary to prevent deadly administration of the pill. In-person requirements help rule out ectopic pregnancies and ensure accurate gestational age estimates, among other things.

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Erik Baptist, who is representing plaintiffs in the Texas lawsuit, told Live Action News: “Instead of spending millions of dollars on untested, unsafe chemical abortion drugs, Gov. Inslee could have used his state’s resources to support pregnant mothers through childbirth and beyond. But he chose death over health and politics over safety.”

It’s unclear how Texas and Washington courts will rule but the decisions could have implications for pill access across the country. Inslee indicated on Tuesday that the Texas case, which is being decided by a Trump-appointed judge, wouldn’t prevent him from dispensing the pill since it pertains to the manufacturing of the medication and his state has already obtained thousands of doses. 

It is currently unknown if a potential decision could at least restrict how Washington state facilities are able to administer the drug. The text of that lawsuit contains several requested measures, including vacating both the FDA’s initial approval of the drug in 2000 and vacating the April 2021 decision to effectively allow use of the drug without in-person dispensing. 

After the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, the abortion pill has received greater scrutiny as it provides a more logistically flexible alternative for women seeking abortions in states with pro-life protections. 

Ferguson has argued that the FDA’s certification requirement threatens pharmacies that may encounter “potential liability if they serve patients from other states like Idaho that have restrictive abortion laws, even if the provider is in full compliance with Washington law.”

On Tuesday, Inslee said that he wrote to Idaho Gov. Brad Little in an attempt to persuade him to veto a law that would allow criminal charges to be brought against anyone who takes a minor out of state to obtain an abortion. Idaho state Rep. Barbara Ehardt (R-Idaho Falls), who sponsored that bill, told Live Action News on Wednesday that “Washington should not be interfering in Idaho’s laws.”

“HB242 is a parental rights bill that makes it clear that a parent needs to be involved in any abortion discussion with their child,” she said. 

“Anyone who would interfere with that relationship should be held accountable and that is what our Abortion Trafficking legislation does.  Idaho’s laws still allow for the rape or incest exception.  This legislation only deals with Idaho and Idaho laws, as that is all we can do.”

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