By Dave Andrusko
The “extremist” label is always attached to right to lifers while pro-abortionists are portrayed as the epitome of reasonableness.
But where in that simplistic framework does the following fall?
Washington state’s pro-abortion Gov. Jay Inslee is taking no chances. What is his “insurance policy” in case Texas federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk agrees with the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and orders the FDA to withdraw its approval of the abortion pill?
At the news conference yesterday Gov. Inslee said he directed the Department of Corrections to order 30,000 doses of mifepristone through its pharmacy license. The mifepristone (the first of the two-drug chemical technique) arrived March 31 and cost $1.28 million. (The University of Washington bought an additional 10,000 abortion pills.)
Because the mifepristone was purchased before Judge Kacsmaryk handed down his decision, it will be available in Washington state, regardless of the judge’s ruling, he said.
“This Texas lawsuit is a clear and present danger to patients and providers all across the country,” Inslee said. “Washington will not sit by idly and risk the devastating consequences of inaction. We are not afraid to take action to protect our rights. Washington is a pro-choice state and no Texas judge will order us otherwise.”
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson joined Inslee at the news conference. Ferguson is helping lead a coalition of 12 state Democratic attorneys general who have sued the FDA to force the agency to drop all remaining restrictions on the abortion pill.
“Lawmakers who have introduced legislation that would allow the state Department of Corrections to distribute or sell the medication to healthcare providers across the state also attended,” according to reports.
Nearly 60% of abortions in Washington are medication abortions. There are about 800 medical abortions in the state every month, according to the state Department of Health. Washington anticipates there will be increased demand for abortion services with the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“Along with millions of unborn babies’ deaths, the FDA has linked mifepristone to at least 28 women’s deaths and 4,000 serious complications,”Micaiah Bilger reported. “However, under President Barack Obama, the FDA stopped requiring that non-fatal complications from mifepristone be reported. So the numbers almost certainly are much higher.”