US: Biden government anticipates new, major legal battle over drug abortion

The administration of Joe Biden has hinted that it will seek to prevent states from banning a pill used to terminate a pregnancy in the wake of yesterday’s move by the US Supreme Court to overturn the landmark 1973 ruling in the “P” case. v. Wade “, anticipating a major new legal dispute.

The government may argue in court that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of mifepristone – one of the pills used for drug abortion – precedes state restrictions, meaning federal power prevails. of any state actions.

The same argument has already been used by Las Vegas-based GenBioPro Inc., which sells a generic version of the pill in a lawsuit aimed at challenging Mississippi state restrictions on abortion.

More than 12 states are planning an almost universal ban on abortion following yesterday’s ruling by the Supreme Court.

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday overturned a landmark ruling in the 1973 Row v. Wade case that recognized women’s constitutional right to abortion and legitimized it nationwide, giving a major victory to Republicans and conservative religious people. restrict or prohibit the procedure.

By a 6-3 vote for the Conservative majority, the court upheld the Republican-backed Mississippi law banning abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy. The judges ruled that the Row v. Wade ruling, which allowed abortions before the fetus became viable outside the womb – between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy – was wrong because the US Constitution makes no specific reference to abortion rights.

States may face other difficulties in their efforts to impose restrictions on abortion because women will continue to be able to obtain the pills online or from other states.

Commenting on yesterday’s decision, President Biden said his government would seek to protect access to abortion and that efforts to curb it would be “wrong, extreme and out of touch with the majority of Americans.”

Justice Secretary Merrick Garland was clearer about what his department was looking forward to, saying in a statement: “States will not be able to ban mifepristone based on disagreement with FDA experts over its safety and effectiveness.” .

Mifepristone was approved for use in abortions by the FDA in 2000, shortly after the Rowe-Wade case in 1973. The pill, also known as RU 486, blocks the production of the hormone progesterone, which maintains pregnancy, while the other drug, which used – misoprostol – causes uterine contractions.

Even before yesterday’s decision, states imposed restrictions on access to the pill. In 19 states it is mandatory for a woman to see a doctor to get it, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports the right to abortion.

The FDA does not require a visit from the person concerned.

Source: Capital

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