The pivotal question the court will hear is this: Can states that prohibit abortion employ federal courts to limit access to abortion pills across the country, including in states where the procedure remains legal?
By Catholics for Catholics
On Wednesday, a federal court in New Orleans is set to take on a question that has been crucial to both pro-lifers and abortion activists: Can states that prohibit abortion employ federal courts to limit access to abortion pills across the country, including in states where the procedure remains legal?
According to a story by Newsmax, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear opinions Wednesday in Louisiana’s challenge to Food and Drug Administration rules permitting mifepristone, one of two drugs mostly used in medication abortions, to be prescribed through telehealth and sent through the mail or certified pharmacies.
The case could have consequences far beyond Louisiana.
If the state is successful in restoring an in-person dispensing requirement, patients in abortion-rights states could also lose mail-order access to mifepristone.
So far, thirteen states now ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy, while Democratic-led states have more and more enacted “shield” laws intended to protect doctors who prescribe abortion medication to patients elsewhere.
The battle among both entrenched sides has transformed the dispute into a major test of state sovereignty after the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned Roe v. Wade and returned abortion regulation to elected officials.
According to the Newsmax story, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and co-plaintiff Rosalie Markezich brought the lawsuit. Markezich argues she was pressured into taking abortion medication obtained through the mail.
In addition, the state of Louisiana also contends the FDA rules undermine enforcement of its abortion laws and impose costs on the state when Medicaid patients require medical treatment after taking mifepristone.
Pro-life supporters have complained about the Trump administration and the FDA for not quickly overturning the new Biden abortion rules for mail order prescriptions of abortion drugs.
The DOJ’s legal effort has also been criticized as an effort to keep the pipeline of abortion access open.
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