Trump administration asks court to pause Louisiana lawsuit targeting abortion pill access while it conducts review
By Tierney Sneed, CNN
(CNN) — The Trump administration on Tuesday asked a federal court to pause a Louisiana lawsuit seeking to end access to abortion pills by mail.
The new filing from the US Food and Drug Administration said the court should put the case on hold while it conducts its own review of mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in medication abortion.
The request stands to further anger anti-abortion activists who are already frustrated that President Donald Trump has not reversed the FDA’s move, during the Biden administration, to lift a requirement that medication abortion drugs be obtained in person. The current regulations have made it easier for women who live in states that ban abortion to obtain mifepristone.
In its filing on behalf of the FDA Tuesday, the Justice Department said that having the court move forward with the case while the agency itself is already scrutinizing the current regulations “would waste judicial resources because FDA’s own review may eliminate any need for the Court’s.”
If the request to pause the case is granted, the Trump administration said it would inform the court within 14 days of any decision to modify the current regulations because of the review.
A spokesperson for Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Anti-abortion advocacy group Americans United for Life blasted the Trump administration’s filing in a statement.
“The FDA’s filing today is just another episode in the continuing saga of the Trump Administration’s lawyers seeking legal delays while administration officials make promises of action on chemical abortion. Pro-life Americans are growing increasingly frustrated with the failure to meet words with action,” Steven H. Aden, chief legal officer and general counsel for AUL, said.
The lawsuit is one of three lawsuits that are being led by anti-abortion states challenging the FDA’s current approach to mifepristone. While Trump has been eager to tout his role in the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade by appointing the justices who were key swing votes, he avoided questions during the 2024 campaign about what he would do on abortion if reelected.
Some anti-abortion activists believe that the mifepristone review announced by the Trump-appointed FDA head Marty Makary is a stalling tactic — a claim the FDA has denied. Pointing to reporting and comments by Makary suggesting the review is still at an early phase, Louisiana is asking for a preliminary order in the case that would restore the in-person mifepristone dispensing requirement, halting its availability by mail.
The deadline for the FDA to respond to that request was Tuesday. In its filing, the Justice Department also argued that the judge should reject Louisiana’s request for procedural reasons.
A hearing is scheduled in the case for February 24.
The-CNN-Wire
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