Judge considers some restrictions on abortion pills illegal in North Carolina

A judge ruled Tuesday that some of North Carolina’s restrictions on distributing abortion pills are illegal, citing arguments over the drug mifepristone that bypassed federal regulators.

In her order, U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles in Greensboro granted a partial victory to the plaintiff, a doctor who sued the state over regulations over concerns surrounding the pill that had not been addressed by the Food and Drug Administration, the Associated Press.

Some restrictions on the drug that have not been expressly reviewed and rejected by the FDA – such as requiring an in-person consultation 72 hours before an abortion, an in-person exam, and an ultrasound before prescribing the drug – may remain in effect. the state, Eagles wrote.

The judge noted that state laws also prevent Congress from creating federal regulation for mifepristone.

“The Court finds and concludes that, to the extent that North Carolina law imposes safety restrictions on drug distribution that the FDA implemented and then affirmatively rejected and removed, those laws frustrate Congress’s objective of establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework under which the FDA determines conditions for the safe distribution of medicines that do not create unnecessary burdens on the health care system or patient access,” wrote Eagles.

The lawsuit was filed on January 25, 2023, by Dr. Amy Bryant, alleging that it was unconstitutional for the North Carolina government to impose regulations on medication abortion because the federal government had already done so through the FDA.

Following the Eagles’ ruling, Bryant released a statement saying she was pleased that the judge recognized that the state cannot impose all restrictions on FDA-approved medications.

Bryant said the state’s restrictions “call into question or interfere with the judgment of FDA experts, and that many of North Carolina’s restrictions on mifepristone are preempted – including requirements that mifepristone be prescribed, dispensed and administered in person,” and the mandatory in-person follow-up consultations and laws that restrict nursing professionals from prescribing the medication.

“We are carefully reviewing the decision and the implications it has for the provision of care to patients in North Carolina,” she wrote.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D), a gubernatorial candidate who supported abortion access throughout his campaign, was named legal party in the case. He blamed the GOP lawmakers who enacted the law for making it “more difficult for women, especially in rural North Carolina, to get a medication abortion,” according to the AP.

The decision is the latest in efforts to achieve abortion rights after Roe v. Wade. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in June 2022 – ending the federal right to access abortion. North Carolina’s Republican-led General Assembly enacted new laws in 2023 that reduced the abortion ban from 20 weeks of pregnancy to 12 weeks.

Restrictions have also been placed on medical abortion, and violating some rules can result in criminal, civil and professional sanctions, the AP noted.

The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000 as a drug that could end pregnancy when used with a second drug, misoprostol. The FDA announced in 2021 that women could get the drug through an online consultation and by mail, but the Supreme Court heard arguments in March from advocates who want to further restrict the drug.