MARQUETTE — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has released the following statement after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay instituting a nationwide ban on prescribing mifepristone via telehealth, effectively prohibiting FDA-approved telemedicine abortions: 

“This decision is another dangerous, partisan attempt to erode reproductive freedom. Mifepristone has been approved by the FDA and safely used for decades. Banning it in this way is based on politics, not science.  

“It’s clear that extremists have no intention of stopping at Roe. We must remain vigilant as the nationwide assault on abortion and all forms of reproductive health care, including birth control and IVF, continues.  

“Here in Michigan, we repealed our criminal bans on abortion and surrogacy, enshrined abortion rights in our state constitution, and made it easier to access birth control and IVF. We will keep fighting like hell in Michigan to protect people’s fundamental freedom to make their own decisions about their own bodies.”