Democratic-led U.S. states challenge restrictions on abortion pill
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[February 25, 2023]
By Brendan Pierson
(Reuters) -Twelve Democratic-led states have sued the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration to challenge certain federal restrictions imposed on the
distribution of the abortion pill mifepristone, saying those limits are
not supported by evidence.
The lawsuit, led by Washington state and Oregon, was filed on Thursday
in federal court in Yakima, Washington and aims to expand access to
mifepristone by allowing it to be prescribed and dispensed by any doctor
or pharmacy, like most drugs. Currently, doctors who prescribe
mifepristone, and pharmacies that dispense it, must obtain a special
certification.
Meanwhile, a separate lawsuit by anti-abortion activists that seeks to
end access to the drug is proceeding in Texas.
Mifepristone, in combination with the drug misoprostol, was approved in
2000 by the FDA for medication abortion in the first 10 weeks of
pregnancy. Medication abortion accounts for more than half of U.S.
abortions.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Jul/22/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png)
Medication abortion has drawn increasing attention since the U.S.
Supreme Court last year reversed its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling
that had legalized abortion nationwide. The decision enabled more than a
dozen Republican-led states to adopt new abortion bans.
"The federal government has known for years that mifepristone is safe
and effective," Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said on
Friday in a statement announcing the lawsuit. "In the wake of the
Supreme Court's radical decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the FDA is now
exposing doctors, pharmacists and patients to unnecessary risk. The
FDA's excessive restrictions on this important drug have no basis in
medical science."
The lawsuit said mifepristone is "safer than many other common drugs FDA
regulates, such as Viagra and Tylenol."
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![](../images/022523PIX/news_l83.jpg)
A pack of Mifeprex pills, used to
terminate early pregnancies, is displayed in this picture
illustration taken May 11, 2022. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/Illustration
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Feb/25/images/ads/current/graue_lda_preowned_022023.jpg)
The other states that are part of the lawsuit are Arizona, Colorado,
Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode
Island and Vermont.
An FDA spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Anti-abortion activists have asked a federal judge in Texas to order
mifepristone off the market nationwide, arguing that the FDA used an
improper process to approve the drug and did not adequately consider
its safety for minors.
In addition to challenging the FDA's restrictions on how the drug is
made available, the Democratic-led states are asking the court to
rule that the agency's approval of mifepristone is lawful and valid,
potentially setting up a conflict with any order in the Texas case
that would require federal appeals courts to weigh in.
The FDA's special restrictions on mifepristone are imposed under a
safety program meant to minimize the risk of potentially dangerous
drugs. The agency has relaxed those restrictions several times since
they were first imposed, most recently in January when it allowed
certified retail pharmacies to dispense mifepristone.
After last year's Supreme Court ruling, Democratic President Joe
Biden directed federal agencies to expand access to medication
abortion. Democratic U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris defended
mifepristone on Friday after meeting with reproductive rights groups
at the White House, calling attacks against it an attempt to attack
fundamental American rights.
(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Will Dunham
and Alexia Garamfalvi)
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