A woman’s right to an abortion has been under fire during the year, particularly in the wake of the overturning of Roe vs. Wade by the US Supreme Court. Now, many people, including doctors and government officials, are left in purgatory, wondering what will happen next. Now, it appears that the Food and Drug Administration is in the same position, as they have placed significant prescriptions on a drug called mifepristone, which is closely tied to abortions.
In the wake of these regulations, more than a dozen state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against the FDA, and one of those is Bob Ferguson, the Attorney General in the state of Washington. Mifepristone is one of a handful of drugs that have had additional restrictions placed on them during the past few months.
The plaintiffs in the case are also not shy about the fact that it is targeting a case that has gone before a Texas judge. His ruling could effectively cut off access to the drug across the country, and the lawsuit filed by the plaintiffs is intended to be a countermeasure against that.
Because some states are changing their laws to be extremely restrictive when it comes to a woman’s right to get an abortion, these states may also ban medications, such as mifepristone, that make it possible for a woman to abort a pregnancy just a few weeks into it. This could almost entirely cut off women in some states from access to safe measures for an abortion, and it could lead to women engaging in even riskier options in an effort to end an unwanted pregnancy. While women in these states may be able to order mifepristone for now, the goal of some states is to cut them off from this medication entirely.
This lawsuit could change that. They are claiming that the regulations and restrictions are unnecessary, as there are so plenty of states where women can order this drug and get an abortion legally. It could be a safeguard for women in other states that may not otherwise have any other options that they would like an abortion. It remains to be seen how this case is going to play out.
