A Texas federal judge Thursday ruled Idaho, Kansas and Missouri can join a case challenging access to the abortion pill.
Trump-appointed Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk allowed the states to pursue legal action in Texas that seeks to prohibit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from allowing online prescriptions for Mifepristone over concerns that it could “undermine state abortion laws and frustrate state law enforcement,” according to court documents. A coalition of doctors previously challenged the FDA’s regulations of the pill due to concerns that several safety standards were ignored in order to rush its approval, but the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the FDA in 2024.
The states are asking for the FDA to require three in-person doctor appointments to obtain a prescription for the drug and limit its use to the seventh week of pregnancy rather than the tenth, according to The Associated Press. The FDA currently allows Mifepristone to be obtained online without a prescription and shipped directly to women.
The previous challenge to the abortion pill was rejected on the grounds that the plaintiffs — made up of pro-life medical professionals — lacked standing and pursed “the wrong forum,” but the Court stated they had “sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections to elective abortion and to FDA’s relaxed regulation of mifepristone.”
The number of abortions performed nationwide have been increasing in recent years in part due to the accessibility of the abortion pill, rising by 10% since 2020 as of March 2024. Many concerns have been raised regarding the pill’s safety and increased availability, particularly due to a dearth of medical oversight of the procedure and limited knowledge about the possible side effects and long-term health consequences for women.
While many states have issued bans on abortion, many individuals in these states can still receive abortions due to the pill’s availability online and by mail.
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