Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill says the state will take its fight to a federal appeals court after a judge refused to block filling prescriptions for an abortion drug by mail.
In an April 7 decision, U.S. District Judge David Joseph ruled against Murrill, who wanted U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules allowing mifepristone to be mailed even to states where abortion is banned be halted while a challenge to those 2023 regulations is litigated.
Joseph did temporarily put the case on hold, but he the pause isn’t indefinite. He also said he still could rule in favor of Louisiana.
In a statement, Murrill said the state will ask the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to toss out the federal rules. She says Joseph’s decision “concluded that Louisiana suffers irreparable harm every day” while the current rules are in effect.
Joseph said he would follow a pending FDA study of the drug, and he said he’s asked told the FDA to update him about its probe within six months.
“Should the agency fail to complete its review and make any necessary revisions … within a reasonable time frame, the court’s analysis – and the weight accorded to these factors – will inevitably change,” Joseph wrote, also saying he believes Louisiana is likely to succeed on the merits of its case.
Murrill says allowing the prescriptions to be filled by mail undermines the abortion ban in Louisiana, which is one of 13 states that bar it at all stages of pregnancy.
“Judge Joseph concluded that Louisiana has standing to sue and is likely to succeed in showing that the 2023 REMS is unlawful,” Murrill said in a statement. “He also concluded that Louisiana suffers irreparable harm every day that the 2023 REMS remains in effect.
“Accordingly, under binding 5th Circuit precedent, the only thing left to do is vacate the 2023 REMS pending the outcome of this litigation. We will ask the 5th Circuit to do so.”
