On April 25, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz visited Stamford Health to stand with hospital administrators and elected officials from Fairfield County in affirming the continued availability of the drug mifepristone at the hospital and across the state.
The announcement was spurred by confusion surrounding the legal status of the drug caused by a series of court rulings. A recent U.S. Supreme Court procedural ruling reversed decisions by lower courts that would have outlawed the use of the drug entirely. The original case comes from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas ruling that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had improperly approved the drug more than 20 years ago.
The drug, which can be used to terminate early pregnancies when used in combination with misoprostol, is used in over half of all abortions in the U.S. It is also widely used in treating miscarriages and other pregnancy complications which can be life threatening.
The medication has been effectively banned in a number of states with restrictive abortion laws, but the drug remains federally legal and accessible.
“It’s very important to clear up any confusion that anyone in our state may have,”said Bysiewicz. “We want to be very clear that mifepristone is still available without restriction. It means that this medication which has been used safely for the past 20 years by more than 5 million women in our country and by millions of other women across the globe is safe, effective, and still legal here in our state.”Bysiewicz reiterated that mifepristone can be administered at up to 10 weeks of pregnancy without visiting a clinic or hospital and can be obtained through the mail or at a pharmacy with a doctor’s prescription.
“Access here in Connecticut will continue for the foreseeable future as we wait for the Appeals Court outcome,”she added. “We want the people of Connecticut, women of Connecticut to know that we will continue to make sure that lifesaving health care is available in our state. And to women across the country who may live in a state where abortion is now illegal: know that you can come to our state and receive that care. If you want to live in a state that stands up for women’s reproductive rights “¦please, please, please move to Connecticut.”Dr. Siobhan Dolan, the new chairwoman of obstetrics and gynecology at the Stamford Hospital Health System, thanked state leadership “for allowing us to practice what we have trained and worked so hard to be able to provide.”Dolan also highlighted safety data associated with mifepristone.
“The risk of death associated with abortion is 0.3 out of 100,000 abortions that occur up to eight weeks, and 6.7 out of 100,000 abortions that occur after 18 weeks or later. That is much less than the risk of mortality due to childbirth,”Dolan said. The 2020 US maternal mortality rate for every 100,000 live births was 23.8, with black women facing a rate of 55.3.
“We see abortion and the use of mifepristone as a women’s health care issue and a health equity issue as well,”said Kathleen Silard, president and CEO of Stamford Health. “Stamford Health will continue to provide this drug and other drugs and therapies that are safe, effective, and legal.”
