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Medication abortion must be available in all 50 states, including Idaho • Idaho Capital Sun [1]
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Date: 2025-04-09
Anti-abortion politicians aren’t just chipping away at reproductive rights; they’re serving as the testing ground for a nationwide ban, even as President Donald Trump insists, they’re leaving it “up to the states.”
Idaho is the latest state to escalate attacks on abortion care, moving to classify mifepristone as a ‘controlled dangerous substance’ — a move mirroring the dangerous legislation in Texas and Louisiana. Meanwhile, lawmakers in those states have pursued criminal charges against a New York doctor for prescribing abortion medication, signaling their intent to prosecute under extreme state laws.
The attack on medication abortion isn’t just intensifying — it’s reaching a crisis point. Anti-abortion politicians are weaponizing junk science and misinformation to target providers and dismantle access state by state. Their playbook is clear: restrict, block and criminalize.
But here’s the thing, we know leaving it “up to the states” creates an unstable patchwork of care that ultimately means people who need abortion care, will go without. Trump’s administration and his appointees continue to attempt to distort science, and manufacture doubt in a perfectly safe form of health care.
The threat to medication abortion is real, and the consequences are deadly. This fight is no longer about restoring the rights lost with Roe — it’s about ensuring people across all 50 states can access the care they need before it’s too late.
Medication abortion, which accounts for 63% of all abortions in the United States, has been FDA-approved for over two decades. It involves the use of two medications — mifepristone and misoprostol — and a 25-year track record shows it is one of the safest and most effective medical interventions available. It has also revolutionized access to abortion care because patients can consult with a health care provider using telehealth and pick up the pills at a nearby pharmacy or have them delivered to their home. This model of care is not only more affordable but also aligns with the broader trend of patient-centered health care, making essential services accessible to more people regardless of their location or income level. Studies demonstrate the safety and patient satisfaction with virtual visits, so it is not surprising that this model now makes up 20% of all abortion care.
That is why anti-abortion lawmakers and opponents are waging a full-scale assault on this critical form of care, leveraging outdated stereotypes, misinformation and antiquated laws to severely limit — or even eliminate — access.
The consequences of restricting access to medication abortion care are devastating and undeniable. We sit with the heartbreaking stories of Amber Thurman, Porsha Ngumezi, Josseli Barnica and Candi Miller, reported by ProPublica. These women were denied necessary care during early pregnancy loss because of abortion bans. Their tragedies highlight the real-world stakes when people cannot access the medical care they need. This isn’t just about the stories of individual women — it’s a cautionary tale for all of us. Denying access to medication abortion care doesn’t just force people to travel across state lines; it can cost them their lives.
Trump and others have said they will leave abortion rights “up to the states,” but the idea that this is a safe or workable option is a mirage. It ignores the deeply inequitable access to care that state-by-state decision-making perpetuates. Lawmakers in Louisiana have established a system that subjects every prescription written for mifepristone and misoprostol to individual scrutiny, thus delaying — or sometimes even denying — access to a medication that is used to manage an early miscarriage, insert an IUD, or start labor for childbirth. In Texas, lawmakers have made clear their willingness to criminally charge providers, who prescribe medication abortion via telehealth appointments to people in Texas. Make no mistake, this lawsuit is a direct attempt to chill the willingness of providers in states where abortion is legal to provide care to patients in states where abortion care is unavailable.
At the federal level, anti-abortion lawmakers are trying to revive the Comstock Act, an outdated 19th-century law designed to restrict the mailing of “obscene” materials. In late December, the U.S. Postal Service affirmed that mifepristone and misoprostol can be mailed legally but left the door open if the Trump administration seeks to twist Comstock into a tool for blocking access to medication abortion.
This is a clear signal: anti-choice politicians, judges and lobbyists are determined to weaponize every legal and procedural avenue to deny care.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. To preserve and build back real access to abortion, we cannot afford a puzzle piece of state laws and entanglement of stigma and misinformation. We must focus on the immediate, tangible needs of people today. That means ensuring access to mifepristone and misoprostol within all 50 states, decriminalizing pregnancy care, and guaranteeing that people receive the emergency care they need without fear of prosecution. Shield laws —designed to protect providers willing to provide care to people across state lines — are essential, but they are not enough. We need federal protections that ensure access to FDA-approved medication nationwide, not a state-by-state patchwork system established by anti-choice judges and politicians.
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