WASHINGTON, DC (November 14, 2023) - Today, U.S. Representatives Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Sean Casten (IL-06), Becca Balint (VT-AL), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), and Jill Tokuda (HI-02) led 48 of their colleagues in a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the HHS Office of Civil Rights, and the Federal Food and Drug Administration urging them to ensure access to methotrexate and misoprostol and urging the restoration of care for people across the country.
“Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in June 2022, people across the country have been denied access to methotrexate and misoprostol,” the lawmakers wrote. “In many states, physicians, other types of providers, and pharmacists must comply with extreme and often confusing abortion bans and restrictions. These laws have created a chilling effect in which providers are fearful to offer medications like methotrexate and misoprostol to manage chronic conditions or for miscarriage management, because they could under another use be used for or cause an abortion. While we appreciate the statement on July 13, 2022, from the Department of Health and Human Services reminding retail pharmacies of their obligation to supply prescribed medications in a nondiscriminatory manner, this issue persists.”
Methotrexate is critical for patients to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA), other autoimmune disorders, and some cancers, including breast cancer, lymphoma and leukemia, among other conditions. Misoprostol is used to prevent gastric ulcers and helps with managing miscarriages.
The full text of the letter can be found here.