Abortion providers sue to preserve, expand access to abortion pill
Send a link to a friend
[May 09, 2023]
By Brendan Pierson
(Reuters) - A group of abortion providers on Monday filed a lawsuit
aiming to preserve access to the abortion pill mifepristone as
anti-abortion opponents aim to ban it in a separate case.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Charlottesville, Virginia, is
similar to one filed in Spokane, Washington by the Democratic attorneys
general of 17 states and the District of Columbia in February.
Both lawsuits name the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a defendant
and ask for court orders lifting current federal restrictions on
mifepristone, which include a requirement that pharmacies be specially
licensed to dispense it.
GenBioPro Inc, which sells a generic version of mifepristone, is also
suing to block the FDA from restricting the drug.
Mifepristone is the first of a two-drug regimen used to terminate a
pregnancy within the first 10 weeks. It is used in more than half of
U.S. abortions.
All three lawsuits come in response to a lawsuit last year by
anti-abortion groups in Amarillo, Texas federal court challenging the
FDA's approval of the drug in 2000. U.S. District Judge Matthew
Kacsmaryk on April 10 suspended approval of the drug.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/May/09/images/ads/current/LPL_small%201.gif)
The same day, the attorneys general won an injunction from U.S. District
Judge Thomas Rice in Spokane barring the FDA from enforcing any
additional restrictions on mifepristone in their states.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/050923PIX/health39.jpg)
A container holding boxes of
Mifepristone, the first medication in a medical abortion, are
prepared for patients at Alamo Women's Clinic in Carbondale,
Illinois, U.S., April 20, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/May/09/images/ads/current/heartlandcollege_lda_050123.png) Kacsmaryk's order was put on hold by
the U.S. Supreme Court while the Biden administration appeals. The
appeal is set to be heard by a panel of three conservative,
anti-abortion judges of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals next
week.
The providers in Monday's lawsuit - Whole Woman's Health, Blue
Mountain Clinic, All Families Healthcare and Trust Women - provide
abortions in Virginia, Montana and Kansas, which are not covered by
the injunction.
"They and their patients require clarity around their continued
provision of mifepristone," the lawsuit said. They said the dueling
district court orders had created "day-to-day, week-to-week
uncertainty" about using the drug.
The FDA declined to comment. Lawyers for the anti-abortion
plaintiffs in the Texas lawsuit did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York, Editing by Alexia
Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |