Attorney General Hanaway Supports Challenge To Biden-Era Abortion Drug

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway joined a coalition of 21 state attorneys general in filing a brief in support of Louisiana’s lawsuit challenging a Biden-era overreaching rule that expanded access to abortion drugs through mail and telehealth, despite contrary state laws.

“I am proud to stand with other attorneys general to fight back against a Biden Administration rule that completely ignored the Constitution and imposed a nationwide abortion standard that would allow out-of-state physicians to ignore state laws,” said Attorney General Hanaway. “The federal government cannot simply sweep aside state protections; when it does, we have an obligation to act. We will continue to defend the rule of law, ensure every unborn child has a voice, and protect women’s health and safety.”

The case challenges a 2023 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) action that removed long-standing safeguards on the chemical abortion drug mifepristone and allowed doctors in one State to prescribe abortion pills to patients in another. This brief argues that the rule unlawfully overrides state laws protecting unborn life and intrudes on states’ sovereign authority following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs.

In the brief the attorneys general explain that the Biden-era rule effectively permits states like California and New York to set abortion policy for pro-life states by enabling telehealth prescriptions that state law prohibits. It also details the real-world consequences of the rule, including increased strain on state health systems and Medicaid programs.

The case is pending in federal court in Louisiana, where the plaintiffs are seeking an injunction to block the FDA rule. In addition to Missouri, Attorneys General from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming joined the brief.

This brief aligns with Attorney General Hanaway’s previous actions to stop dangerous, high-risk chemical abortion drugs from flooding the country through mail-order distribution. Missouri is leading this separate multi-state challenge to the ongoing dismantling of critical safety protections surrounding mifepristone, protections Congress required, and that drug manufacturers are obligated to meet before placing these products into the marketplace.

Read the brief here.