(The Lion) A series of high-stakes federal lawsuits challenging the FDA’s regulation of mifepristone – and others contesting state restrictions on the drug – will keep chemical abortion at the center of national legal fights throughout 2026.
Six Republican states – Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri and Texas – are involved in three lawsuits that challenge under-regulated access to mifepristone, the first of two chemical abortion pills. Missouri led Idaho and Kansas in a refiled suit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that originally argued the FDA’s approval of mifepristone was outside its authority and risked the health of Missouri women.
The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the case in 2024, claiming Missouri – the only state suing at that time – did not have standing. Since then, Idaho and Kansas have joined the suit, now arguing that the FDA’s relaxed restrictions of mifepristone under the Biden administration put women’s health at risk, as does the recent approval of a generic version of mifepristone.
In October, Louisiana also sued the FDA for allowing remote prescriptions and mail distribution of mifepristone. The state seeks a temporary injunction that would require an in-person doctor’s visit, prescription and administration while the case is ongoing.
Texas and Florida sued the FDA in December for its initial approval of mifepristone in 2000 and its subsequent easing of restrictions in recent years.
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Lawsuits to expand access
Other lawsuits are seeking to expand access to chemical abortion – suits filed by various physicians and medical organizations, Reuters reports. They seek to remove the need for patient authorization or physician certification.
Similarly, the attorneys general of California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York filed a petition requesting the FDA to expand access to mifepristone and remove all restrictions.
Other lawsuits oppose state laws that monitor and limit mifepristone access, including laws in Louisiana, North Carolina and West Virginia, according to Reuters.
Disputes between states that restrict access and those that ship abortion pills across state lines are expected to continue. For example, in July, a New York doctor was fined $100,000 by Texas for shipping abortion pills to the Lone Star state, but New York’s county clerk claimed New York’s shield law protects the doctor.
Editor's note: This article was published by The Lion and is reprinted with permission.
