Trump administration seeks pause on another lawsuit challenging abortion pill

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The Trump administration on March 6 again asked a judge to pause a state lawsuit seeking to roll back Biden administration-era eased restrictions on mifepristone, a drug commonly, but not exclusively, used for first trimester abortion.

The U.S. Department of Justice moved to dismiss Missouri v. FDA, a lawsuit from a coalition of states led by Missouri seeking to end a Food and Drug Administration policy permitting mifepristone to be distributed by mail, arguing it undermines their own state laws, among other objections.

But DOJ lawyers in the Trump administration argued in the filing that the court “should either stay this case until after FDA completes its review or dismiss it.”

However, the status and timeline of the FDA’s review is unclear.

The filing came after the Trump administration previously sought to dismiss a similar lawsuit brought by Louisiana. In the DOJ’s filing in the Louisiana case, it said such reviews often take about one year.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a March 6 statement, “Once again, the Trump-Vance Justice Department is taking the side of abortion drug dealers and the radical Left against women and children, public health and safety, and the overwhelmingly pro-life GOP base.”

“Burying this shameful move in a Friday evening news dump underscores how indefensible it is,” she added. “On top of this, in a federal court hearing less than two weeks ago, the administration admitted it has NO details on the timeline for (FDA) Commissioner (Marty) Makary’s promised safety study of mifepristone — if indeed it has really begun.”

Referring to recent comments made by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the amount of sugar used in food products by companies including Dunkin’, Dannenfelser argued, ““While Secretary Kennedy is focused on the scourge of Dunkin’ coffee and the DOJ has been busy litigating against concerned Republican leaders in ruby-red states, women and girls are under assault and babies are being killed.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment from OSV News.

Proponents of the drug argue it is statistically safe for a woman to take, and attempts to restrict it are an attempt to ban abortion outright. In contrast, opponents argue there are significant risks to those who take it, particularly outside of medical settings, in addition to ending the life of an unborn child early in its development.

The Catholic Church teaches that all human life is sacred from conception to natural death, and as such, opposes direct abortion. Church leaders have called for restricting mifepristone’s use in abortion, while noting that the drug’s more recent usage in medical protocols for miscarriage care, where an unborn child has passed away, would be a morally legitimate scenario.

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