Philadelphia, PA – March 25, 2024 – As medical health care professionals descend on the steps of the Supreme Court tomorrow, Tuesday, March 26 for a rally in support of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine case, the Catholic Medical Association calls on the Supreme Court to protect the well-being of teenage girls and young women.
“It is imperative that the FDA remember its own mission statement that it is ‘responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security’ of medications. The FDA’s dismissal of mifepristone’s harmful effects and its removal of safety standards do not fulfill that responsibility,” said Dr. Tim Millea, chair of CMA’s Health Care Policy Committee. “CMA fully supports the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine’s efforts, and is confident that the United States Supreme Court will agree and ensure the safety that American women deserve.”
Since its initial approval, the FDA has removed nearly every safety standard it once determined essential for women’s health and safety. By eliminating the requirement that doctors provide in-person care to monitor for ectopic pregnancies, severe bleeding, and life-threatening infections, the FDA has left teenage girls and women to take these high-risk drugs alone at home.
The FDA’s own label for mifepristone says that roughly one in 25 women will end up in the emergency room after taking abortion drugs. Further, the drug packet warns of serious and sometimes fatal infection and bleeding; however, the FDA also removed the requirement for prescribers to report all serious complications from the abortion drugs. The packet also says that about 85% of patients report at least one adverse reaction following administration of 200 mg mifepristone tablets and misoprostol, but usually it is multiple adverse reactions including nausea, weakness, fever/chills, vomiting, headache, diarrhea, and dizziness.
As an organization of health care professionals on the front lines caring for these patients and seeing the severe health complications resulting from the FDA’s actions, the Catholic Medical Association, a founding member of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, is participating in the suit to hold the FDA accountable.
“This case holds significant implications for Catholic health care professionals, women, and teenage girls and could have more far-reaching consequences than the Dobbs decision, as studies show that chemical abortions are more dangerous and more prevalent than surgical abortions,” said Executive Director, Mario R. Dickerson, M.T.S., who will attend the proceedings on behalf of CMA.
CMA and all the allied health organizations involved with the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine are calling members to join together in their white coats on the steps of the Supreme Court for a rally from 8am-12pm on Tuesday, March 26. Together, physicians and health care professionals will stand up for their patients’ safety and well-being.
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