Florida Attorney General Files Suit Against FDA Over Abortion Medication Regulations
In a major legal move with significant implications for state policy and healthcare access, the State of Florida has joined Texas in filing a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The lawsuit challenges more than two decades of federal regulatory decisions regarding the use and distribution of abortion drugs, specifically arguing that current FDA policies interfere with Florida’s state laws.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, alongside Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, filed the 120-page complaint in Wichita Falls, Texas. The primary focus of the legal challenge is the drug mifepristone, which is used in conjunction with misoprostol to terminate pregnancies. According to the lawsuit, mifepristone is currently utilized in approximately two-thirds of all abortions in the United States.
Key Arguments in the Lawsuit
The state attorneys general argue that the FDA’s decisions dating back to the drug’s initial approval in 2000 were “arbitrary, capricious,” and an “abuse of discretion.” A central point of contention is the federal agency’s move to deregulate how these medications are dispensed.
The lawsuit claims that by allowing abortion drugs to be sent through the mail, the FDA is effectively bypassing state laws designed to restrict abortion access. In Florida, a law prohibiting abortions after six weeks of pregnancy took effect in May 2024. This state legislation also prohibits physicians from using telehealth to perform abortions and mandates that such medications be dispensed in person.
The United States Food and Drug Administration is responsible for ‘protect(ing) the public health by ensuring that drugs are safe and effective. Yet the FDA’s approval and deregulation of abortion drugs have placed women and girls in harm’s way.
Conflict Between Federal Rules and State Law
The legal filing outlines a timeline of FDA decisions that the states are seeking to overturn:
The lawsuit contends that these actions violate the federal Administrative Procedure Act. Furthermore, it cites the Comstock Act of 1873, arguing that the law prohibits sending abortion-related medications through the mail.
Reactions and Political Context
The legal challenge alleges that the FDA’s regulatory changes were politically motivated, noting that key decisions occurred under Democratic administrations. Conversely, civil rights advocates maintain that the lawsuit is an attempt to restrict access to medication that has been deemed safe for decades.
Julia Kaye, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, issued a strong response to the filing:
These lawsuits have nothing to do with the safety of this medication and everything to do with making it harder for people to get an abortion. Politicians in Texas and Florida are asking for a nationwide ban on a safe and effective medication that millions of Americans have used since the FDA first approved it 25 years ago.
The outcome of this lawsuit could determine the balance of power between federal health regulations and state-level abortion restrictions, potentially reshaping reproductive healthcare access across Florida.
