The federal government is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to lift an injunction on safety rules governing the RU-286 abortion pill while a lawsuit brought by a pro-abortion group is litigated.
A judge issued the order in the case brought by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and others against a longstanding requirement by the Food and Drug Administration.
The FDA rule, adopted under the Clinton and Obama administrations, requires only that patients obtain RU-286, known as Mifeprex, at a hospital, clinic or doctor’s office after being counseled about the drug's risks.
The abortion lobbyists contend the COVID-19 pandemic makes the rule is burdensome.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has given the plaintiffs until Sept. 8 to respond to the government's request to lift the injunction.
The American Center for Law & Justice, which filed a brief in the case, said the abortion industry "is relentless in its opposition to anything that might delay or in any way inconvenience access to abortion."
"The COVID-19 pandemic has given abortion activists a handy excuse to attack the safety regulations for abortion pills, and a district court bought their argument," the ACLJ said.
Under current FDA regulations, pregnant women seeking abortion pills must meet with the health care provider in person to obtain the pills and to be informed of possible risks. The lawsuit asks that expectant mothers be allowed to obtain abortion pills by mail after a "telehealth"' encounter, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext.
The ACLJ points out that this is despite the FDA's determination there are "serious health risks associated with the drug."
The FDA argues the safety requirements should be maintained because, among other reasons, in-person counseling informs patients of possible serious complications and provides them with instructions on how to handle them.
The Trump administration further points out that limits on abortion pills don't affect the availability of surgical abortions. Moreover, the administration argues, abortion pills are a relatively recent option, first approved in 2000. That was 27 years after Roe v. Wade created a right to abortion.
To say that a limit on such pills is unconstitutional, the government notes, "would imply that the FDA was constitutionally required to approve Mifeprex in 2000" when President Clinton’s administration first approved the drug.
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