Washington State to Maintain Abortion Pill Stockpile if Trump Wins

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Facts

  • Outgoing Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee declared in an interview with Reuters that Washington State would keep its stockpile of abortion pills in case Republican presidential nominee, former Pres. Donald Trump, wins the election.[1]
  • According to the New York Times, Inslee and at least four other Democratic governors have secured supplies of mifepristone to preserve access for women through a potential second Trump administration.[2][3]
  • This comes as some Democrats fear that once back in the White House, Trump would either rescind the Food and Drugs Administration's regulatory approval of mifepristone or criminalize interstate distribution.[4]
  • Washington State has warehoused tens of thousands of doses of the pill since last year due to a federal lawsuit to restrict access to mifepristone nationwide. It's unclear when the medication will expire, with claims ranging from two to six years.[2][5]
  • The US Supreme Court unanimously rejected the mifepristone case last June, preserving access to the widely used abortion drug after finding that the plaintiffs had no legal right to sue.[1][6][7]
  • As of July 2024, 14 states have near-total bans on mifepristone, which is used to end pregnancies in their first trimester and treat early miscarriages, and another 14 states require prescriptions or other restrictions.[8]

Sources: [1]Reuters, [2]New York Times, [3]Breitbart, [4]FOX News, [5]The Seattle Times, [6]Associated Press, [7]US Supreme Court and [8]USAFacts.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by Slate. It's not hard to understand why Gov. Inslee and other Democratic governors are stockpiling abortion pills ahead of the 2024 US presidential election. If Trump happens to win in November, his second administration will seek to attack reproductive rights nationwide.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by National Review. Democrats are fearmongering on mifepristone in a desperate attempt to prevent Trump from returning to the White House. Given that the former president has publicly endorsed the Supreme Court decision to approve abortion pills and argued that abortion rights should be a state issue, it's clear he opposes a ban on mifepristone.

Predictions