In lieu of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overruling of Roe v. Wade, a court case offering women the right to get an abortion, states are adjusting to the new national decree.

Roe v. Wade was a landmark decision for women’s rights, specifically in ruling the legalization of abortions. 

Recently, a smaller lawsuit in Texas, the Hippocratic Medicine v. the FDA, brought attention to the decision after almost a year after the overturning. This case is an anti-abortion group, the Hippocratic medicine group, questioning the authority of the FDA to approve mifepristone as a drug for abortions in all aspects. Mifepristone is a common abortion pill used by doctors nationwide. The decision of the case could further limit access to abortion care even more across the country, including in protected states. 

Mifepristone is one of the two drugs doctors prescribe when performing abortions and is the first of two drugs used. Abortion through oral medication is more common than surgical abortions, with mifepristone being the first of the two doses used. Mifepristone is considered a safe option for oral abortion.

At the end of this April, after the announcement of this lawsuit, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek announced her partnership with Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) to stock up on 22,500 doses of mifepristone for $40, the equivalent of a three-year supply. The goal of the stock-up is to ensure all Oregon patients have access to abortion pills, regardless of the Supreme Court decision. 

Mifepristone is more than just an abortion drug, but is used for the reproductive health of women in multiple areas. It’s also used as indications of the medical management for miscarriages, cervical preparation for second-trimester abortions, and the management of second and third-trimester pregnancies when the fetus has died before birth. 

In order to take this drug, a visit to a hospital, doctor’s office, or health clinic is required with the approved medication stocked in their facility. Kotek has stated that the State will support doctors’ prescriptions of abortion medication, regardless of what’s happening in Texas, and officials will not extradite people for receiving care. Koteck is planning to explore numerous possible alternatives for safe and legal care for abortions. 

Oregon would be following the decisions of other states like Washington, California, New York, Massachusetts, and Maryland, who recently stated they would be stocking up on abortion pills for their patients.