NJ governor says ‘everything is on the table’ if abortion pill is banned

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) on Wednesday said “everything is on the table” as the approval of a widely used abortion pill hangs in the balance.

“We’ve gone to the CEOs of both Walgreens and CVS to make sure that we had unencumbered access. We have considered bulk acquisition. We have clearly joined in legal action as an amicus matter,” Murphy said in an interview with MSNBC’s Katy Tur. 

“Everything is on the table, and please God it doesn’t come to that,” he added of the possibility the abortion drug mifepristone could be pulled from the market.

A federal judge in Texas suspended the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) 23-year-old approval of mifepristone last month, finding the agency improperly rushed the process. 

The Supreme Court has blocked the order from going into effect, leaving the drug available as the case proceeds through the appeals process. However, a federal appeals court Wednesday appeared skeptical of the Biden administration’s arguments for keeping mifepristone on the market.

Murphy said Wednesday that it remains “to be determined” whether the state would defy a potential Supreme Court ruling blocking access to the drug.

“But when I say everything is on the table, Katy, I mean that,” he said, later adding, “This is gonna cost people’s lives … women in particular, sadly. And so, if that’s what’s at stake, we’ll do whatever it takes to save lives.”