Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul
Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 17 attorneys general and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, today called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove burdensome restrictions on mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions.
Raoul and the coalition submitted a filing presenting extensive evidence on the safety of medication abortion in their states as well as the burdens imposed by the FDA’s continued restrictions on mifepristone. In today’s filing, Raoul and the coalition join and supplement a citizen petition filed with the FDA by Massachusetts, California, New Jersey and New York on June 5, urging the agency to eliminate unnecessary restrictions on this safe medication that make it much harder for patients to access medication abortions, particularly in rural and medically underserved areas.
“The existing restrictions on mifepristone only serve to create unnecessary obstacles for patients seeking access to a proven safe medication for abortion and miscarriage management,” Raoul said. “I will continue to stand up for the rights of patients to make their own health care decisions, in consultation with their medical providers, and to access all forms of reproductive health care, not only here in Illinois, but across the country.”
In response to political pressure to restrict medication abortion, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a Senate committee in May that he had ordered the FDA to conduct a “complete review” of mifepristone. Since receiving FDA approval in 2000, the combination of mifepristone and misoprostol has been the only FDA-approved regimen to end an early pregnancy. The safety and efficacy of medication abortion are well established by hundreds of scientific studies, and more than 7.5 million individuals in the U.S. have safely used mifepristone for abortion care or miscarriage management.
And yet, the FDA has set restrictions on the drug not warranted by its long and well-documented history of safety. The FDA requirements for mifepristone unduly burden patient access by, among other things:
These extra and unnecessary requirements, which apply to almost no other drugs the FDA regulates, discourage medical professionals from providing medication abortion when they already have the appropriate training to administer the drug.
In today’s filing, Raoul and the coalition request that the FDA finally remove the onerous and unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone. Alternatively, they ask FDA to stop enforcing the requirements in their states because the states already have robust regulatory structures to ensure patient safety.
Attorney General Raoul has been a strong advocate for access to reproductive care, including abortion. Raoul has often joined his fellow state attorneys general to oppose draconian abortion regulations in other states. Most recently, Raoul advocated for access to reproductive health services for veterans and their families, and spoke out about the need to protect health care providers from risky in-person medical board certification requirements. In 2023, Raoul filed a lawsuit to preserve access to mifepristone for patients in Illinois. In 2024, Raoul, as part of a coalition of 24 attorneys general, filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court to protect access to medication abortion nationwide. The court’s ruling ultimately preserved access to medication abortion.
He has also initiated or supported legislative proposals to preserve Illinois as a reproductive health care oasis in the Midwest, including 2024 legislation that codified access to emergency abortion care in state law.
Before the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade, Raoul’s office issued guidance to inform Illinois residents of their rights around reproductive care and sent a letter to law enforcement clarifying that abortion would not be criminalized in Illinois, regardless of what action was taken by the Supreme Court.
Raoul’s office has also encouraged individuals to protect their privacy when seeking reproductive care. In July 2022, Raoul’s office issued a consumer alert containing guidance to help individuals protect their privacy while using apps and online platforms. Additionally, Raoul advocated for stronger federal protections for patients’ reproductive health information and called on Apple to take practical steps to protect consumers’ private reproductive health information.
Throughout his time in office, he has also defended Title X, the only federal grant program that funds family planning and counseling programs to help patients access contraception, as well as breast and cervical cancer screenings, screenings and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, and other related health services.
Joining Raoul in submitting the petition to the FDA are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, along with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
