Washington purchases 3-year supply of abortion medication, ensuring access to the pill

OLYMPIA, Wash. (KOMO) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is making sure Washingtonians will continue to have access to a leading abortion drug as approval of the medication may soon be rescinded nationwide.

On Tuesday, Inslee announced the Washington State Department of Corrections, under orders from the governor, purchased a three-year supply (30,000 doses) of mifepristone. According to the governor's office, the DOC ordered the abortion medication last month using its existing pharmacy license. Inslee said the shipment was delivered on March 31.

Inslee said the University of Washington contributed an additional 10,000 pills bringing the state's supply to 40,000 pills. That amount is expected to last about four years. The governor said the 30,000 pills cost the state $1,275,000.

Last month, a conservative Trump-appointed judge in Texas heard arguments in a court case that could force the Food and Drug Administration to rescind its approval of mifepristone, which is used as one part of a two-pill regimen for medication abortions. The ruling would effectively end the ability of providers or pharmacists nationwide to purchase the medication.

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During the arguments, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk said he would rule "as soon as possible," without giving any clear indication of how he might decide and leaving open the question of whether access to the standard regimen for medication abortions might soon be curtailed throughout the country.

“This Texas lawsuit is a clear and present danger to patients and providers all across the country. Washington will not sit by idly and risk the devastating consequences of inaction,” Inslee said. “We are not afraid to take action to protect our rights. Washington is a pro-choice state and no Texas judge will order us otherwise.”

Inslee also announced Tuesday legislation sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, and Rep. Jessica Bateman, D-Olympia, which would authorize the DOC to distribute or sell the medication to licensed health care providers in the state. Medication abortions count for more than half of all abortions in the U.S. and nearly 60% of abortions in Washington state.

The FDA approved the use of mifepristone in combination with misoprostol for medical abortions in 2000. It is used to end pregnancies until their 10th week and has been increasingly prescribed since last summer's U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. Before its approval in the U.S. mifepristone was widely used in Europe beginning in the late 1980s. Since FDA approval, it has been safely used more than 5 million times in the U.S.

If access to mifepristone is curtained, clinics and doctors that prescribe the combination have said they would switch to using only misoprostol. The single-drug approach has a slightly lower rate of effectiveness in ending pregnancies, but is widely used in countries where mifepristone is illegal or unavailable.

Last month, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced a multistate lawsuit against the FDA accusing it of "singling out one of the two drugs used for medication abortions for excessively burdensome regulation, despite ample evidence that the drug is safer than Tylenol." Ferguson argued that the restrictions on mifepristone create an unnecessary risk for medical providers and patients in Washington.

The FDA requires that patients receiving mifepristone sign an agreement. Ferguson argued this creates an added risk for patients, especially those who travel to Washington from states where abortion is illegal.

Several other abortion and gender-affirming care bills are also in the state Legislature this year, where they are expected to be passed. They include HB 1155, which seeks to improve consumer health data privacy; HB 1340, which seeks to strengthen Uniform Disciplinary Act language for abortion or gender-affirming care providers; HB 1469, which seeks to strengthen legal protections for patients or providers involved with reproductive care or gender-affirming care in Washington and SB 5242, which removes cost-sharing for abortion care services.