PILL PUSH

Blue States Sue FDA to Drop All Restrictions on Abortion Drug

The lawsuit by a group of 12 Democratic attorneys general is the latest move in the post-Roe battle over reproductive rights.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, abortion pills have been on the front line of the battle over reproductive rights in the U.S. A group of Democratic attorneys general representing a dozen states moved Saturday to sue the Food and Drug Administration in an attempt to force the agency to repeal all restrictions that remain on the abortion drug mifepristone. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in eastern Washington and led by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, asked the court to classify the drug as “safe and effective” and thus consider all limits on it unconstitutional. Mifepristone has been FDA-approved for over 22 years, during which time restrictions on the drug have been steadily lessened. Used together with misoprostol, mifepristone is responsible for about half of all abortions in the U.S.