Canada will try to offer abortion drug mifepristone to American women if it’s banned in the US

The Canadian government may step in to provide American women with mifepristone should the abortion drug be banned in the US, an official said.

Canada’s Families Minister Karina Gould reacted to the legal battle over mifepristone on Thursday, before the US Supreme Court preserved access to the widely used abortion drug while legal challenges against its government approval continue.

The decision from the nation’s high court on 21 April maintained the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug, which is used in more than half of all abortions in the US, after a federal judge in Texas struck it down in a ruling that would have profound and potentially dangerous consequences for millions of Americans if allowed to go into effect.

Mifepristone will remain legal and accessible, with the FDA’s approval intact. The case now returns to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana, where both parties will have a chance to file briefs. The case will be argued before a three-judge panel on 17 May.

Speaking to CTV the day before the Supreme Court ruling, Ms Gould said that her nation’s government “would work to provide [mifepristone] for American women” in the event of a US ban.

“What concerns me is where you see laws in states where they’re actually criminalising women [who] cross state borders to access reproductive healthcare,” Ms Gould said.

“We need to be very thoughtful about how we do this to make sure that we don’t further endanger, you know, American women who are seeking access to reproductive health care and services, as well as health-care providers.”

She said Canada does not currently have enough supply of mifepristone to provide it across the border, but that the federal government is “actively engaged” on that matter.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that point,” she said.

The Supreme Court issued its ruling maintaining the FDA’s 23-year-old approval the following day - but the issue is far from put to bed as it goes back down to an appeals court next month.

Abortion providers and abortion rights advocates feared that a ruling that preserves a decision from US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas would effectively allow a single judge, with a history of anti-abortion activism, to determine reproductive healthcare decisions for millions of Americans – not only in states where abortion already faces severe restrictions but also in states where access to care is legally protected.

A ruling that strip’s the FDA’s regulatory authority could also invite similar activist- and partisan-driven challenges to other drugs at the centre of right-wing attacks, including Covid-19 vaccines, birth control, HIV medication and hormones and other drugs used for gender-affirming healthcare.