Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho have filed a joint amended lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration in a revived effort to restrict access to the abortion-inducing drug mifepristone.
Filed in Texas federal court on Friday, the suit comes about four months after the Supreme Court unanimously decided not to reverse changes to the FDA's regulations on mifepristone.
These changes — such as allowing the drug to be obtained by mail without being seen in person by a doctor — helped expand access to medication abortions.
The states' attorneys general are asking that mifepristone be banned for use after the seventh week of pregnancy instead of the 10th, and that federal regulators be made to require three in-person doctor's appointments before prescribing it to a patient.
The plaintiffs also challenge the FDA's approval of generic versions of the abortion drug in the complaint and argue that mifepristone is dangerous and causing harm to women in these states.
When abortion is performed using medication, two drugs are used back-to-back: mifepristone, which terminates the pregnancy, and misoprostol, which causes contractions to expel the fetus.
In addition to the FDA, numerous medical groups, including the Association of American Medical Colleges, have deemed mifepristone safe for use and more than 6 million people have used it since 2000.
According to data from the Guttmacher Institute, medication abortions have climbed steadily in the U.S. since Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022. Just over half, or 53%, of abortions in the U.S. in 2020 were medication abortions. By 2023, however, 63% of all abortions were medication abortions.
The states' attorneys general also contend that the federal rules governing the drug's use and administration "seek to undermine" state abortion laws and enforcement.
In places like Missouri and Idaho, for example, where abortion is almost completely banned, the plaintiffs claim abortion pills are "flooding" the states.
Newsmax reached out to the FDA for comment on the lawsuit but did not receive an immediate response.