AG Curtis Hill: Courts Should Allow FDA To Regulate Chemical Abortions As Usual During Pandemic

Tuesday, August 4, 2020 at 8:39 AM

By Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, press release

A U.S. district court recently ruled that the FDA must suspend several of its normal rules during the pandemic.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - Federal courts should not use the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason to interfere in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of chemical abortions, Attorney General Curtis Hill said today.

A U.S. district court recently ruled that the FDA must suspend several of its normal rules during the pandemic — including a requirement that mifepristone, an abortion drug, be dispensed only in a clinic, medical office or hospital.

Such rules protect women’s health and “are not unduly burdensome even in the current public health emergency,” according to an 11-state amicus brief filed in a U.S. appellate court. The brief, which is co-led by Indiana and Louisiana, supports the FDA’s motion for a stay of the district court’s ruling pending an appeal.

"When a woman ingests mifepristone for the purpose of aborting a fetus, she not only ends the life of her unborn child, but also undergoes significant risks to her own body,” Attorney General Hill said. “Federal and state laws require physical examinations and in-person dispensing of mifepristone to ensure that physicians check for contraindications and that women fully understand the risks.”

The amicus brief is attached.