Democratic and Republican attorneys general argued Friday over efforts by anti-abortion doctors to pull the abortion pill, mifepristone, from the U.S. market.
New York led a coalition of 22 attorneys general arguing that withdrawing the pill would have “harmful consequences” for women. Mississippi leads 22 Republican attorneys general who say the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone is “grossly flawed.”
The dueling arguments are part of an escalating federal court battle in Texas over a lawsuit filed by anti-abortion doctors last November, which seeks to overturn the FDA’s more than two-decade-old approval of mifepristone.
Used in combination with misoprostol, mifepristone is the most common way to terminate a pregnancy in the US, accounting for about half of all abortions.
Abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America, in an analysis published Friday, said 40 million women would lose access to the abortion pill if the court revoked FDA approval.
The New York-led coalition said revoking FDA approval would make the pill unavailable, forcing women to undergo more invasive surgical procedures or avoid abortions altogether.
Surgical abortions are more expensive and difficult to obtain, she said, which will result in women who are disadvantaged, underserved or living in rural communities with no access to clinics.
“This will have devastating consequences,” the attorney general told Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who is presiding over the case in U.S. District Court in North Texas.
A Mississippi-led coalition backed the claims of anti-abortion doctors, calling the FDA’s action on mifepristone “deeply flawed.”
“For two decades, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has acted to establish a nationwide on-demand abortion regime by licensing access to chemical abortion drugs — inconsistent with federal and state laws protecting life, health, and security,” The Republican Party. the attorney general objected.
Later on Friday, 67 Republican members of Congress filed a brief calling the FDA’s approval of mifepristone “illegal,” saying it should be rescinded. They claim that the agency’s actions undermine Congressional protections for patients. But the FDA has had regulations in place for years to monitor the safety of mifepristone, which has gradually weakened as more evidence has come to light.
The FDA, in a response last month, called the lawsuit “extraordinary and unprecedented.” The agency’s attorneys said they could find no precedent before the courts that second-guessed the FDA’s decision to approve the drug.
The FDA approved mifepristone as a safe and effective way to end early pregnancy based on extensive scientific evidence, the agency’s attorney said. Decades of experience among thousands of women have confirmed that the drug regimen is safer than surgical abortion or childbirth, lawyers say.
Kacsmaryk on Thursday extended the deadline for the case. He ordered one of the manufacturers of the abortion pill, Danco Laboratories, to oppose the suit. Anti-abortion doctors who brought the case have until February 24 to respond.
“Forcing the FDA to rescind the long-standing approval would interfere with the agency’s authority over whether the drug is safe and effective, and would cause direct and immediate damage to Danco by shutting down its business,” Danco Laboratories’ attorneys said in court on Friday.
Mifepristone has been a major focus in the fight over abortion access since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June.
The FDA last month changed regulations to allow certified retail pharmacies to dispense mifepristone. CVS and Walgreenstwo of the nation’s largest drugstore chains, said they are being certified to distribute prescription drugs in states where it is legal.
The Republican attorney general has warned the company not to distribute the pill through the mail in its state, indicating that it will take legal action.
There are also lawsuits seeking to overturn state bans on mifepristone, arguing that it conflicts with FDA regulations. GenBioPro, another abortion pill maker, is suing to overturn West Virginia’s ban. Doctors in North Carolina are challenging the state’s ban.
New York led a coalition of attorneys general opposing mifepristone to remain on the market including: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin and Washington, DC
Mississippi’s leading coalition opposing the FDA’s approval of mifepristone includes: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas , Utah and Wyoming.