A Texas judge who previously put a stop to the nation’s most prevalent abortion method has recently permitted three states to proceed in a new attempt to limit federal regulations and restrict access to the abortion medication mifepristone for individuals throughout the United States.
Idaho, Kansas, and Missouri filed their request late last year in a federal court located in Amarillo, Texas, following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that found the abortion opponents who initially initiated the case did not have adequate legal standing.
The judicial figure in Amarillo is Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee known for his rulings that have often opposed the Biden administration on matters such as immigration and LGBTQ rights.
The states are requesting that the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban telehealth prescriptions for mifepristone and enforce its use strictly within the first seven weeks of pregnancy, a change from the current allowance of up to ten weeks. Additionally, they are advocating for the necessity of three in-person visits to a doctor instead of allowing patients to obtain the drug without such requirements.
According to legal documents, these states contend that the accessibility of the medication undermines their state abortion statutes and complicates law enforcement efforts concerning those laws.
In the meantime, Kacsmaryk indicated that the states should not be dismissed from pursuing legal action in Texas simply because they are located outside its borders.
The American Civil Liberties Union expressed on Thursday that this case should have been resolved when the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld access to mifepristone in the previous year, where the justices reaffirmed that the abortion opponents initially bringing the case lacked the rightful basis to sue.
The ACLU pointed out that Kacsmaryk’s ruling has allowed aggressive politicians to persist in their efforts to challenge medication abortion under his jurisdiction.
This latest ruling arrives just ahead of Trump commencing his second term, which suggests that his administration may represent the FDA in this ongoing litigation. While Trump has historically framed abortion as a state issue, he has also highlighted the Supreme Court justice appointments he made, which contributed to the 2022 decision to remove the national right to abortion.
Over recent years, abortion activists have increasingly concentrated their efforts on restricting abortion pills, as they account for a significant majority of abortions performed in the U.S., shifting away from surgical procedures. Currently, states like Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, and Tennessee have seen anti-abortion lawmakers propose bills aimed at banning such medications. However, these initiatives do not mimic Louisiana’s approach from the past year, which designated these drugs as controlled dangerous substances.
Previously, Kacsmaryk ruled in favor of a coalition of anti-abortion doctors and organizations that sought to compel the FDA to revoke its approval of mifepristone from 2000. However, the states are pursuing a more limited challenge, seeking to reverse various FDA revisions that have previously facilitated access to the medication.
While state officials continue to advocate for stringent limits on these drugs, voters in Missouri demonstrated a different sentiment in November by endorsing a ballot initiative that repealed one of the most rigid abortion bans in the country. Currently in Idaho, abortion is prohibited at all stages, whereas Kansas permits it generally up to the 22nd week of pregnancy.
Across the nation, there are 13 states governed by Republican legislatures that enforce total bans on abortion, with some exceptions, while an additional four impose bans after just six weeks of pregnancy, often before many women are even aware that they are pregnant.
Conversely, some states led by Democrats have enacted laws to protect doctors from investigations and prosecutions for prescribing these pills through telehealth services and sending them to patients in states with bans. Such prescriptions are a significant factor in research indicating that individuals in those states are obtaining abortions at rates similar to those prior to the enforcement of bans.
Mifepristone is generally utilized in conjunction with a second medication for medication abortions and has represented over 60% of all abortions performed in the U.S. since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
These medications differ from Plan B and similar emergency contraceptives, which are typically taken within three days post-conception and well before any pregnancy confirmation. Studies have determined that mifepristone is predominantly safe, resulting in successful abortions over 97% of the time, a figure that is lower than the efficacy rate of surgical procedures.
