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Twelve Democratic-led states have sued the Food and Drug Administration to challenge certain federal regulations imposed on food distribution. abortion drug mifepristonestating that these limitations are not supported by evidence.
of lawsuitThe lawsuit, led by the states of Washington and Oregon, was filed Thursday in federal court in Yakima, Wash., by allowing doctors and pharmacies to prescribe and dispense mifepristone, like most drugs. It aims to expand access to fepristone. Currently, doctors who prescribe mifepristone and pharmacies who dispense it are required to obtain a special certificate.
in the meantime, Another lawsuit by anti-abortion activists A movement to end access to drugs is underway in Texas.
Mifepristone was approved by the FDA in 2000 for medical abortion during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy in combination with the drug misoprostol. Medical abortions account for more than half of all abortions in the United States.
Medical abortion has received increasing attention since the United States Supreme Court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision last year. The decision allowed 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 Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Friday in a statement announcing the lawsuit. Following the Supreme Court’s radical ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, the FDA is now putting doctors, pharmacists, and patients at unnecessary risk. has no basis.”
The lawsuit says mifepristone is “safer than many other common FDA-regulated drugs, such as Viagra and Tylenol.”
Other states participating in the lawsuit are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont.
An FDA spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Anti-abortion activists have taken Mifepristone to a federal judge in Texas, alleging that the FDA used an inadequate process to approve mifepristone and did not give due consideration to its safety for minors. I called for Fepristone to be taken out of the market nationwide.
Democratic-led states are asking courts to rule that FDA approval of mifepristone is legal and valid, in addition to challenging FDA restrictions on how the drug is made available. and may conflict with any order in the Texas litigation. A Federal Court of Appeal must consider.
Special FDA restrictions on mifepristone have been imposed under its safety program aimed at minimizing the risks of a potentially dangerous drug. The agency has eased these restrictions several times since they were first imposed, most recently in January when it allowed licensed retail pharmacies to dispense mifepristone.
After last year’s Supreme Court ruling, President Joe Biden directed federal agencies to expand access to medical abortion. After meeting with reproductive rights groups at the White House on Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris defended mifepristone, saying the attack was an attempt to attack America’s fundamental rights.
