A federal judge has ruled that some of North Carolina's restrictions on dispensing abortion pills, such as requiring only doctors to provide the drugs, are illegal.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Some of North Carolina's restrictions on the dispensing of abortion pills, such as requiring only doctors to provide abortion pills, undermine the Legislature's goal of using regulatory authority to ensure safe distribution of the drugs. A federal judge ruled it illegal. on tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Eagles in Greensboro granted a partial victory to the doctor who performed the abortion, which sued state and local prosecutors and state health and medical officials last year.
But other challenged restrictions on mifepristone, such as requiring a 72-hour in-person consultation and an in-person test before prescribing, do not take precedence, Eagles wrote. This is because they have not been explicitly reviewed or rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or because they focus on potential health issues related to medical practice or pregnancy. she added.
Republican legislative leaders who joined the lawsuit to defend the regulations argued that the FDA was not given special authority to set regulations for abortion drugs nationwide. Eagles agreed, but Congress has given the FDA the power to regulate the use and distribution of mifepristone, along with other drugs with the power to change or loosen restrictions if they are found to be safe. He added that there was no indication that he was given any lesser authority.
Some of the North Carolina regulations that remain on the books have already been removed as unnecessary by federal regulators, including that the drug can only be prescribed and dispensed directly by a physician. , she wrote.
Spokespeople for plaintiff Dr. Amy Bryant, Republican legislative leaders, and Attorney General Josh Stein did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment Tuesday. This judgment may be appealed.
The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000 to terminate pregnancies when used in combination with a second drug, misoprostol. The pill is now used in more than half of abortions in the United States.
Stein, a Democrat and abortion rights supporter, did not defend the additional restrictions in court because his office believes they were preempted by the FDA.