As a Texas federal judge mulls whether to halt the Food and Drug Administration’s longstanding approval of an abortion pill, 12 liberal states have filed a separate lawsuit in a federal district court in Washington state that seeks to force the FDA to drop some restrictions on the drug.
Both suits target mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in medical, non-surgical abortion — now the most common way to terminate a pregnancy. And both suits, in different ways, undercut the FDA’s authority. And it is likely that both suits will end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.
It’s hard to imagine the current justices ruling in favor of the pro-choice state attorneys general. The lawsuit may therefore be intended strategically, to allow the justices to appear to take a middle ground and decide an eventual Supreme Court case in favor of the status quo. But it’s risky to file strategic lawsuits when it comes to protecting abortion rights. Especially in the era of the current super-conservative Supreme Court.
