Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey reports that she asked the University of Massachusetts “to purchase 15,000 doses of mifepristone” in wake of a Texas judge’s suspension of FDA approval for the drug, which is commonly referred to as the abortion pill.
“That’s over a year’s worth of doses that we expect to have in hand this week,” writes Healey.
In her statement noting that 15,000 doses are more than “a year’s worth,” Governor Healey reveals that the state is preparing to provide for an expected number of more than 1,000 abortions by medication per month on average.
I’m also issuing an Executive Order that makes sure medication abortion, including mifepristone, is protected under the laws passed in the wake of Dobbs. The Shield Law continues to protect providers who stock and dispense mifepristone, and patients who access this vital care.
— Maura Healey (@MassGovernor) April 10, 2023
That 1,000 per month estimate is still only a fraction of the total number of abortions in Massachusetts each year, according to recent data. WBUR reports that “in 2020, just under 16,500 people had abortions in the commonwealth. Fifteen years ago, there were about 24,000 abortions a year… The numbers were higher still in 1979 and 1980, when roughly 44,000 people in Massachusetts had abortions.”
Healey has support for her stockpile strategy from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who wrote, in line with Healey’s comments, that “a single extremist judge in Texas shouldn’t get to overrule decades of scientific evidence and block access to mifepristone.”
A single extremist judge in Texas shouldn’t get to overrule decades of scientific evidence and block access to mifepristone. I'm working with @MassGovernor and @MassAGO to ensure that medication abortion will remain safe, legal, and available in Massachusetts. pic.twitter.com/m0s55yoyt6
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) April 10, 2023
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