A federal district court on Tuesday paused Louisiana’s lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration’s liberalization of dispensing rules for the abortion pill mifepristone until the agency is able to complete a safety review, intensifying the conflict between anti-abortion Republicans and the Trump administration.
Judge David Joseph of the Western District of Louisiana, who was appointed to the post by President Donald Trump in 2019, ruled on Tuesday afternoon that Louisiana’s case against the FDA cannot proceed until the FDA completes its safety review of the controversial drug.
The lawsuit hinges on whether or not the safety profile for the abortion drug has changed significantly from its initial FDA approval following the loosening of restrictions in 2023 to enable telehealth providers to prescribe the medication across state lines and without in-person patient exams.
The safety review was promised by both Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary during their respective confirmation hearings, but some congressional Republicans have speculated that the administration is delaying the review until after the November midterm elections.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill sued the FDA in October, calling for the agency to re-establish in-person dispensing requirements for the abortion pill, arguing that the ability to obtain the pills online effectively nullifies the state law prohibiting elective abortion.
Abortion rates increased slightly nationwide last year to 1.1 million, largely due to increasing rates of telehealth abortions in states that have near-total abortion bans.
Joseph denied Louisiana’s motion to block the 2023 rule pending the outcome of the case, which is on pause until the agency completes its safety review for the medication.
The federal judge wrote in his opinion that temporarily blocking telehealth abortions would have a “sweeping effect” across the different states, but he stressed that the stay “will not remain open-ended.”
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“FDA has an obligation to act with all deliberate speed to review its past actions and complete a thorough analysis that addresses the deficiencies it has acknowledged,” Joseph wrote. “The parties and the American public deserve nothing less.”
The court ordered the FDA to submit a status update on its safety review within 60 days of the order, on April 7. Within 14 days of the completion of the safety study, the FDA must submit a brief to the cort on the agency’s next course of action and a proposed schedule for continued litigation.
