BOSTON – Gov. Maura Healey stood on the steps of the State House last summer and said mifepristone will stay accessible in Massachusetts.

Even stockpiling it in anticipation of women travelling from outside of the state for an abortion. 

Now, the United States Supreme Court is taking up the case, looking at the safety of the drug and reliability of the FDA’s 20-year approval of the medication.

Dr. Luu Ireland, a professor of obstetrics at UMass Memorial Health, said she unequivocally believes mifepristone is safe, and the science backs that up.

“Mifepristone is very safe,” Ireland said. “If heaven forbid my sister or my daughter were in a situation where she needed mifepristone, I would by all means want her to have access to it. The science is there. The safety is unquestionable. The safety should not be where it is right now, in the court’s hands.”

Healey doubed down on her previous statements, saying in a statement: 

“In Massachusetts, mifepristone remains safe, legal and accessible – and we’ll continue to protect access to reproductive health care for our residents every step of the way,” she said. 

This is the first abortion-related case the court has taken up since overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Doctors across the country aren’t sure what a ruling in this latest case could mean for their practices. 

 “I don’t think that we know yet how a Supreme Court decision is going to affect access here in Massachusetts,” explained Ireland. “We are in unprecedented times. We have never been a situation where a Supreme Court is undermining evidence-based access to health care. So I think it remains to be seen how it will play out. Governor Healey has done everything she can to make sure that access remains in Massachusetts.”

Former President Donald Trump has recently said in a radio interview he would consider supporting term limits on abortion, but he has not yet weighed in on the Supreme Court’s case. 

During a Supreme Court hearing, justices seemed to question if the doctors who filed the legal action had standing to do so.

A decision is expected sometime in July.