For Immediate Release: May 1, 2026
Contact: napawf@berlinrosen.com

Statement from Christina Baal-Owens, Executive Director, NAPAWF:

Coordinated federal and state efforts continue to chip away at our reproductive freedoms, including ongoing legal challenges to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone and legislation seeking to override that authority. Against this backdrop, the Fifth Circuit’s willingness to second-guess the FDA’s scientific judgment is deeply alarming.

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) women already face significant barriers to reproductive healthcare, including language access gaps, immigration-related fear, limited culturally competent care, cost burdens, and deep-rooted stigma. This action will only compound those harms, making it even harder for our communities to access the safe and timely care they need. 

Medication abortion is a safe, evidence-based standard of care and now accounts for nearly two-thirds of abortions nationwide. The FDA has consistently affirmed its safety and efficacy through decades of rigorous scientific review, including expanding access through telehealth and pharmacy dispensing–policies that reduce unnecessary burdens like travel, lost wages, and exposure to surveillance or stigma.

When ideology overrides medical evidence, and the courts second-guess the FDA’s scientific authority, it creates a dangerous precedent that threatens the integrity of our broader public health system. Reinstating in-person requirements is not about protecting patients; it is part of a broader agenda to restrict access under the guise of regulation. 

We stand with communities across Louisiana and will continue to challenge policies that restrict care, while advancing a vision of healthcare that is accessible, evidence-based, and grounded in dignity.

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About NAPAWF

The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only multi-issue, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls in the United States. Founded in 1996, NAPAWF builds collective power through organizing, advocacy, and communications to advance reproductive justice, economic justice, and immigration and racial justice.