Massachusetts stocks up on disputed abortion pill

Massachusetts is joining the list of Democratically-led states stockpiling mifepristone, the abortion pill at the center of a federal court dispute.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst has purchased roughly 15,000 doses, at the request of Gov. Maura Healey. That purchase alone would cover medication abortions for nearly two years, based on the most recent state data.

In addition, some hospitals are ordering an extra supply of the drug. The Mass General Brigham hospital system said it has "significantly increased its supply of mifepristone," and UMass Memorial Health confirmed that it is stocking up. The state will also distribute $1 million to purchase mifepristone at clinics that provide abortions, including Planned Parenthood.

These steps come a few days after two federal courts issued contradictory rulings on mifepristone, which has been on the market for 23 years. A federal judge in Texas ordered the FDA to revoke approval for the drug; a different judge in Washington state ordered the FDA to maintain the status quo. The Biden administration has appealed the Texas court ruling amid confusion about whether mifepristone will remain legal.

Healey says buying up mifepristone will ensure the two-drug combination remains an option in Massachusetts.

“Nothing has changed and nothing is going to change,” Healey said during an announcement Monday on the State House steps. She was flanked by dozens of Democratic politicians and abortion rights advocates. “We will ride this out. People in Massachusetts will be protected,” Healey said.

Washington state was the first to adopt this strategy. A spokesperson for the makers of Mifeprex, a brand of mifepristone, said it was able to fill the UMass order in one day and doesn’t anticipate any issues with supply.

Also on Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said his state has secured 2 million doses of another abortion medication, misoprostol.

Mifepristone is used in combination with misoprostol to cause almost half of the abortions in Massachusetts. It’s also used to make sure a miscarriage is complete.

Dr. Danielle Roncari, vice president for medical services at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, said maintaining a supply of mifepristone is essential.

"It allows us to continue to provide the most effective, evidence based regimen for medication abortion despite what is happening in Texas," she said.

Teresa Larkin, the executive director at Your Options Medical, says she's surprised and concerned by the state's push to acquire mifepristone. Your Options Medical is a network of pregnancy counseling clinics in Massachusetts that does not offer abortions.

"If there's evidence, which we've seen, that these drugs can be very harmful, potentially to women, we should all be welcoming a pause to investigate," Larkin said. "What are the actual harmful effects women have experienced taking this drug?"

The FDA has records of 28 reported deaths among scores of women who've taken mifepristone in the near-quarter century since the drug was approved. The deaths, from an ectopic pregnancy, an infection or a chronic illness, were not directly caused by mifepristone.

UMass Amherst began offering medical abortions last fall. The state relied on the university to purchase the pills, rather than buying the medication itself, because UMass has an existing certification and supply contract.

It’s unclear how many of the 15,000 doses the university system will use. The Healey administration said it plans to reimburse UMass for the cost of the pills, $675,000, and create a process for distributing the medication to providers.

Healey has also signed an executive order to confirm that providers and pharmacists are protected by state law when they stock or use mifepristone. Those protections would not hold, however, if the FDA withdraws approval for the drug.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has joined a multi-state effort to keep mifepristone available while the Biden administration appeals the Texas ruling. The group filed an amicus brief this week with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, urging the court to halt enforcement of the lower court’s preliminary injunction.

Correction: California has secured a stockpile of misoprostol, not mifepristone. We regret the error.