Supporters of abortion rights filed separate lawsuits Wednesday challenging two states' abortion pill restrictions, the opening salvo in what's expected to a be a protracted legal battle over access to the medications.
The lawsuits argue that limits on the drugs in North Carolina and West Virginia run afoul of the federal authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has approved the abortion pill as a safe and effective method for ending pregnancy.
The litigation turns on a longstanding legal principle that federal law, including FDA decisions, pre-empt state laws. Indeed, few states have ever tried to fully ban an FDA-approved drug because of past rulings in the agency's favor.After the Supreme Court overturned the decision in June, previously adopted restrictions on abortionand two states adopted new ones.
The lawsuit, filed by Dr. Amy Bryant, argues that such requirements contradict FDA-approved labeling for the drug and interfere with her ability to treat patients. The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000 to end pregnancy, when used in combination with a second drug, misoprostol. The combination is approved for use up to the 10th week of pregnancy.
That change was made at the request of the two drug manufactures: GenBioPro and Danco Laboratories, which makes brand-name Mifeprex. "The ban and restrictions make it impossible for GenBioPro to market and distribute mifepristone in West Virginia in accordance with FDA's requirements," the company states in its suit filed in the state's southern federal district.
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