Dem AGs clash with Biden admin over abortion pill restrictions
Source: Politico
The Biden administration is fighting a Democratic-led effort to make abortion pills more accessible even as it simultaneously opposes a GOP-led effort to ban the drugs nationwide.
Lawyers representing the FDA are expected in court on Tuesday to defend the agency’s authority to place certain restrictions on mifepristone, which is typically used to end a pregnancy during the first 10 weeks. The case before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington was brought by more than a dozen Democratic state attorneys general who say the requirements around the drug, including a certification process for anyone prescribing it, place an undue burden on patients and providers.
“I’m just not going to put up with an FDA that places unreasonable and illegal limitations on this important medication,” Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who is leading the coalition, said in an interview. “I understand I’m filing a lawsuit against an administration that I respect and a president who I admire, but that’s beside the point. They have restrictions in place that are real, that have an impact and that need to be eliminated.”
Should the judge rule in their favor, the case could eliminate restrictions in those states — broadening access to the drug for tens of millions of people. But the oral arguments also come as a federal judge in Texas is set to rule on whether to ban the pills entirely, and the potential for clashing federal court decisions could push the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/28/attorneys-general-biden-abortion-pills-00089089
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