Mass. moves to stockpile supplies of abortion pill
Meehan says UMass mifepristone purchases in line with its mission
By 
MASSACHUSETTS IS STOCKPILING the abortion drug mifepristone through the state university system and health care providers, shoring up access to the medication after a federal judge in Texas issued an order that could invalidate the drug’s 23-year-old authorization by the end of the week.
At Gov. Maura Healey’s request, the University of Massachusetts Amherst last week spent $675,000 purchasing about 15,000 doses of mifepristone, or about $45 per dose. The doses, which are expected to arrive this week, would “ensure sufficient coverage in the state for more than a year,” according to the governor’s office. Health care providers in Massachusetts will also buy quantities of the drug, with Healey pledging $1 million to assist state-contracted providers with the purchases.
“Mifepristone has been a safe, FDA-approved medication for over 20 years,” Healey said at a press conference announcing the stockpiling effort, along with an executive order that confirms a 2022 shield law protecting abortion providers and patients from any liability under laws in other states applies to medication abortion including mifepristone.
“It’s the gold standard in medication abortion care,” Healey said. “It’s been used safely for years as well in miscarriage management, to treat lupus, to reduce the risk of ulcers, among many other medical uses. This is the drug we’re talking about. This political intervention into basic medical care hurts women at what can be a difficult and heartbreaking time… It harms patients, undermines medical expertise, and takes away freedom.”
Read more on the mifepristone legal battle from CommonWealth: Bringing the abortion pill litigation into focus
In 2020, there were a bit less than 16,500 abortions in Massachusetts, a number that has steadily declined over the years due in part, according to reproductive care advocacy groups, to an increase in contraceptive availability through the Affordable Care Act. The vast majority of abortions occur in the first eight weeks of pregnancy and almost half of all abortions in the state are medication abortions.
Reproductive health organizations have said that they feel confident in the state’s ability to deal with demand for mifepristone from Massachusetts residents as well as residents of other states who may come to Massachusetts seeking abortions.
Healey was joined at the press conference in front of the State House by members of the state’s congressional delegation and state legislative leaders, along with leaders of UMass and reproductive care organizations.
All concurred with Healey’s broadside against the anti-abortion ruling.
“Today we collectively are saying loud and clear, not on our watch,” US Sen. Elizabeth Warren said of the possibility that access to the medication could be blocked. Thanks to those in attendance, Warren said, “mifepristone is and will remain safe, legal, and available in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
She and House Speaker Ron Mariano said the long-term battle is at the ballot box. “We just can’t continue to elect these people,” Mariano said of former president Donald Trump and similarly politically aligned officials.
Healey did not specify which health care providers will also be stockpiling the medication.
The executive order directs state agencies to create guidance for the availability and distribution of medication abortion. Healey administration officials said the Department of Public Health will issue guidance on licensing and a distribution plan for higher educational institutions, and the Division of Insurance will develop guidance for insurers.
On the topic of distributing UMass Amherst’s 15,000 doses to other providers statewide, Healey said, “we’ll work out the distributions. I again note that there are any number of hospitals and other health care providers who are also ordering doses as well. For anyone out there in need of services, in need of care, nothing has changed and nothing is going to change.”
Massachusetts governors and legislators have taken several actions before and since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the federal constitutional right to abortion in 2022. Abortion is legal and protected in Massachusetts because of the state Roe Act, and a 2022 law shields state providers and patients from liability if they perform or facilitate abortions.
In March, with the Texas ruling looming, the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy issued guidance that “all pharmacies located in Massachusetts and licensed by the Board must maintain a continuous, sufficient supply of all family planning medications,” including mifepristone.
As the country awaits the results of the Biden administration’s appeal of the Texas order and watches for possible action to bring the issue before the nation’s highest court, Campbell warned that stripping a right to abortion away is a harbinger for other seemingly entrenched constitutional rights. She said people should bear in mind, “regardless of how they feel about this right to an abortion, if they can eliminate that right in the face of significant precedent, all civil rights are under threat. Everyone should care about this issue.”