Following Extreme Abortion Decision in Texas, Congressman Cleaver Continues Fight to Protect Reproductive Freedoms

(Washington, D.C.) – This week, following the radical decision by a lone Texas judge in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) joined Representatives Pat Ryan (D-NY) and Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), along with 48 other House Democrats, to co-introduce the Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act. The legislation would reaffirm that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), not a single federal judge in Texas, has clear and pre-emptive authority to regulate abortion medication. The Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act would also protect the ability of doctors to prescribe medication abortion via telehealth for patients across the country.

Last week, Congressman Cleaver also joined dozens of House Democrats in calling on President Biden and the Biden Administration to use all legal authority to preserve the FDA’s approval of mifepristone and other critical medications approved by the FDA.

“In their rush to criminalize women’s reproductive care in every state in the country, MAGA Republicans and the ideological extremists they have put on the federal bench are trampling over the rule of law in a way that will have wide-ranging impacts for all kinds of medications—not just mifepristone. Throwing out the science and decades of data and legal precedent to enforce your ideological agenda is dangerous, destructive, and down-right un-democratic,” said Congressman Cleaver. “Congress must take action to stop this radical judicial overreach and defend the rights of women across the country—and we can start by passing the Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act and Women’s Health Protection Act as soon as Congress returns to session.”

According to an analysis from the Guttmacher Institute, medication abortion now accounts for more than half of all abortions in the United States, with the process often involving a two-dose regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol. While mifepristone was deemed safe and approved by the FDA more than two decades ago, a federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary ruling last week that invalidated the FDA’s approval of the medication, citing ludicrous claims that the FDA failed to adequately consider risks associated with the medication. However, studieshaveshown that mifepristone is safer than other medications like Tylenol, penicillin, and a wide-array of other drugs approved by the FDA.

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and five decades of legal precedent in the Dobbs decision, Congressman Cleaver has strongly supported federal protections for abortion and women’s reproductive care. Last year, Rep. Cleaver was an original cosponsor and helped pass the Women’s Health Protection Act and the Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act through the House of Representatives. The Women’s Health Protection Act would codify the protections of Roe v. Wade into law and secure the right to reproductive care for all women across the United States, regardless of where they live. The Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act would ensure no person acting under state law can prevent, impede, restrict, or otherwise retaliate against a person travelling across state lines to obtain a lawful abortion.

The Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act is endorsed by Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Official text of the Protecting Reproductive Freedom Act is available here.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.