ICYMI: Davids Joins “Velshi” to Discuss New Attacks on Reproductive Health Care Medication in Kansas After Supreme Court Decision
This past weekend, Representative Sharice Davids appeared on MSNBC’s “Velshi” to discuss the Supreme Court’s recent decision to preserve access to Mifepristone, a safe and effective form of medication abortion. She also expressed concern over Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach’s continued legal attack on the medication, which was approved decades ago and is used in more than 60 countries to safely end a pregnancy.
WATCH: Davids speaks on the Supreme Court’s action to uphold reproductive health care for now and Kris Kobach’s continued attack
During the segment, Davids said, “The access has been protected for now, and seeing some of these extreme politicians and actors pushing these extreme policies is not just scary; it’s dangerous. We have to make sure we’re keeping our eye on the ball and not letting people like Kris Kobach, who, by the way, does not speak for the vast majority of Kansans, as we saw in August of 2022. The vast majority of Kansans do not want politicians interfering in our reproductive health care decisions.”
Last Thursday, the Supreme Court unanimously preserved access to a medication that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year. The justices ruled that abortion opponents lacked the legal right to sue over the FDA's actions to ease access to the medication, leaving open the door for future legal challenges. Immediately following this decision, Kobach and attorneys general of two other Midwestern states immediately vowed to push forward their legal challenge of mifepristone.
In Kansas, voters overwhelmingly voted to protect the right to access abortion in the state by defeating an anti-choice constitutional amendment in August of 2022. Additionally, a Kansas judge ruled that year that health care providers are allowed to prescribe medication abortion, such as mifepristone, through telemedicine. Despite that ruling and the landslide pro-choice results of the August special election, Kansas state lawmakers continue to introduce legislation to ban the medication and further restrict access to reproductive health care.