The Biden administration helped expand access to medication abortion with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalizing a rule to make the pills more readily available in pharmacies.

This is very important as about half of the country could ultimately ban or heavily limit abortion access since the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade. Expanding the availability of abortion pills gives more Americans an opportunity to access this medical care.

Medication abortion care is a safe, effective, non-invasive option for ending an early pregnancy. But despite federal regulations and expanded access, some states are still trying to enact full dictatorship over bodily autonomy.

Just days after the FDA announcement, Alabama, which has a near-total ban in place, announced the intention to criminally prosecute people who use abortion pills to terminate a pregnancy. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis wasted no time in sending an ‘ignore the federal government’ note to medical providers.

When federal and state law is in conflict, federal law prevails. The Department of Justice must use its power to challenge all state bans that violate federal law.

If banning abortion is no longer unconstitutional, it is imperative that we use every method at our disposal to restore abortion access. From the grassroots level, to state legislatures, to the Oval Office, we all have a part to play—and this is the DOJ’s.

Sign the petition to the U.S. Department of Justice: Challenge all state abortion bans that violate federal law.