Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. The issue of medication abortion is back in the courts, and this time it’s a New Orleans-based appeals court that’s weighing in. Medication abortion now accounts for two-thirds of US abortions, and the numbers have actually increased since the 2022 Supreme Court decision that ended abortion rights protections nationwide. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up – the latest case was brought against the Trump administration by Louisiana, which is arguing that its abortion prohibitions are being undermined by federal regulations that allow mifepristone to be sent to patients in the mail, without an in-person doctor’s visit.
The case has been winding its way through the courts for years, and it’s getting more complicated by the day. The Trump administration is trying to head off the lawsuit by raising procedural issues, while refusing to endorse the safety of the drug. Meanwhile, the FDA is undertaking a review of the drug’s safety profile, and has sought to put the entire case on hold for that reason. Anti-abortion activists are accusing the FDA of slow-walking the issue for political reasons, while reproductive rights groups are worried that the administration will clamp down on medication abortion access after the midterms.
The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals spent over 100 minutes hearing arguments on the case, and it’s clear that the judges are struggling with whether they can interfere with the US government’s regulatory approach to the abortion pill. The Justice Department is trying to get the court to reject Louisiana’s request, citing procedural issues and refusing to give its views on whether Louisiana was required to take steps to air its objections through the regulatory process before it could file its lawsuit.
One of the judges, Stephen Higginson, expressed frustration when the DOJ attorney said he was not “authorized” to give his views on the matter. I can just imagine the look on his face – bless their hearts. The judges also focused on the larger procedural question of Louisiana’s standing to bring the case, meaning whether it had shown the regulations were harming it in a way that made it appropriate for courts to intervene.
The case has brought political heat for the administration, as anti-abortion groups have been irate that Trump’s FDA hasn’t sought to end telehealth abortion on its own and that it’s opposing the legal challenges. The FDA says it’s undertaking a review of the drug’s safety profile, but anti-abortion activists are accusing the agency of slow-walking the issue for political reasons.
Higginson repeatedly noted that courts in other parts of the country had issued rulings faulting the FDA for being too strict in its regulations for medication abortion. He also raised a 2021 Supreme Court ruling that reversed a lower court order that required the FDA to allow telehealth abortions because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s all getting very complicated, folks.
Erik Baptist, a senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, Louisiana’s co-counsel in the case, told CNN after the hearing that the court’s willingness to dig into the merits of the lawsuit gave Louisiana the opportunity to flesh out its argument. He described the FDA’s rules as an “intentional” effort to send medication abortion drugs into anti-abortion states. Somewhere in Atlanta, a producer thought this sounded terrifying, and now we’ve got a full-blown media frenzy on our hands.
In conclusion, the issue of medication abortion is a complex and contentious one, and it’s clear that the courts are going to be wrestling with it for a long time to come. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will likely rule on the case soon, but no matter what they decide, it’s likely that the Supreme Court will have the final word. And let’s be real, folks, this is all just a big mess – I’m just going to sit back, sip my coffee, and enjoy the show, because at the end of the day, you can’t make this stuff up, and that’s just the truth.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
