LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Samuel Alito, temporarily blocked lower court rulings that suspended sales on the abortion pill, Mifepristone.
On Friday, the justice blocked certain restrictions, but executives of health centers are concerned that the rulings over the past couple of weeks are causing confusion, even in states where abortion is legal, like Nevada.
"Mifepristone is a safe, effective option for medication abortion," said Adrian Manzanares, CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains which also oversees health centers in Southern Nevada. "Mifepristone has been around for over 20 years, and we know that patients prefer a medication abortion."
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More than half of the abortions across the country are medication abortions, according to Manzanares. Planned Parenthood health centers in Las Vegas reported about 2,000 patients a year that choose to terminate pregnancies through medication abortion.
The initial ruling handed down by a federal judge in Texas to suspend the FDA Approval of the pill, led some health centers across the U.S. to stock pile Mifepristone; however, Manzanares said that as of a Federal Appeals Court ruling on Thursday, reinstating its FDA Approval, Planned Parenthood was not among those health centers. Mazanares says they are waiting until the is a definitive ruling in the case.
