Republican states can move ahead with abortion pill lawsuit in Texas

Source: Reuters

January 16, 2025 4:43 PM EST Updated 11 hours ago


Jan 16 (Reuters) - The Republican-led states of Idaho, Missouri and Kansas can proceed with a lawsuit seeking to restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone in the United States, a federal judge in Texas ruled on Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo decided tab that the three states can continue their case against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in his court, where they last year joined a lawsuit originally brought by anti-abortion groups and doctors. Those original plaintiffs dropped their case after the U.S. Supreme Court last June found they did not have the necessary legal standing to challenge the FDA's regulation of mifepristone. The pill, given FDA regulatory approval in 2000, is used in more than 60% of U.S. abortions.

Outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden's administration had argued that the claims by the three states should be dismissed because, with the original plaintiffs gone, they had no connection to Kacsmaryk's court. But Kacsmaryk disagreed, deciding that the three states could - for now - pursue the revised lawsuit, and that venue disputes could be heard later.

The three states are challenging FDA actions that have loosened restrictions on the drug since 2016, including by approving it for use in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, up from seven weeks, and allowing it to be prescribed by telemedicine and dispensed by mail.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/republican-states-can-move-ahead-with-abortion-pill-lawsuit-texas-2025-01-16/