One doctor out of North Caroline is officially suiting the state over laws that put limitations on the drug mifepristone, which causes medical abortion.
Dr. Amy Bryant officially filed a complaint this past Wednesday which made the claim that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially laid out a specific Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for the drug, but North Carolina has put various other restrictions in place, including the abortion drugs which need to be administered in person and must be handed out by a doctor. The pills also need to be issued out in particular locations in the wake of counseling services, as well as after a time period of 72 hours and, at times, after techs have carried out an ultrasound, it stated.
Bryant explained to ABC News in a release that she chose to go forth with the complaint about mifepristone since currently there is “no medical reason for politicians to interfere or restrict access” to it.
“These burdensome restrictions on medication abortion force physicians to deal with unnecessary restrictions on patient care and on the healthcare system,” she explained.
This particular case highlights a very divisive debate about states’ rights versus the dictations of the federal government.
Bryant’s lawyer, Eva Temkin, stated that federal regulations for the abortion drug would take precedent over the rules from states when the two do not align.
“Congress has made clear that FDA is tasked with establishing regulatory controls for this drug to ensure safety and patient access in the least burdensome way,” she stated.
A ruling from the lawsuit could impact the pro-life laws from other states, explained ABC News. There are not many states that have tried to issue a block for the medication in its entirety that was approved by the FDA because of prior rulings, explained a report from CBS News.
The suit claimed that because the FDA has looked over the REMS medicine, because of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, North Carolina does not have the power to initiate more limitations and certain specifications about how to use the drug.
The supremacy clause of the constitution states that federal laws are typically put over those states, as the Legal Information Institute at Cornell highlighted. Despite this, regulations from the FDA could be a highly questionable factor in such a lawsuit.
The FDA’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy when it comes to these drugs include the power to hand out the drug on a broad spectrum. It can be given out by any authorized prescriber or under such supervision, as well as by specific pharmacies
