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Press Release
Reproductive Freedom for All on Makary’s Resignation as Supreme Court Weighs Sweeping National Mifepristone Restrictions
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Contact: [email protected]
Reproductive Freedom for All on Makary’s Resignation as Supreme Court Weighs Sweeping National Mifepristone Restrictions
Washington, DC — Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary’s resignation today is the latest sign of instability and political turmoil inside the FDA at a moment when abortion access nationwide—and the political fallout surrounding it—hangs in the balance.
Makary’s resignation comes just one day after the Supreme Court extended a temporary stay in Louisiana v. FDA, blocking the Fifth Circuit’s ruling that would have reinstated medically unnecessary in-person dispensing requirements for mifepristone and eliminated mail and pharmacy access to the medication across the country. The Court’s action preserves access to medication abortion as it existed prior to the Fifth Circuit’s ruling while the legal fight continues. Initial reports of Makary’s ousting emerged on Friday afternoon, mere hours after disgruntled anti-abortion groups, who are frustrated the FDA has not sufficiently wielded its power to ban mifepristone outright, met with White House staff.
The ongoing legal battle over mifepristone comes just months before critical midterm elections and as abortion rights continue to shape political debates and voter engagement across the country. If allowed to take effect, the Fifth Circuit’s ruling would block telehealth access to mifepristone for millions of people who cannot access in-person care, including in states where abortion remains legal.
Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju released the following statement:
“Marty Makary’s resignation is the latest sign of the chaos and political interference consuming the FDA—and the timing of it underscores what it looks like for fringe groups to have the ear of the White House. Makary launched a sham FDA review of mifepristone based on junk science, and that still wasn’t enough for anti-abortion extremists who are pushing for someone even more out of step with the American people to run the agency. Voters are paying attention to what is happening in the courts and inside federal agencies because these decisions have real consequences for people’s lives, health care, and freedom. Americans deserve an FDA guided by medical evidence and public health, not political agendas aimed at forcing people into pregnancy against their will.”
Medication abortion accounts for the majority of abortion care in the United States, and mifepristone has been safely used by millions of patients over more than two decades.
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For over 55 years, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America) has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for everybody. Reproductive Freedom for All is powered by its more than 4 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.
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