RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein has not defended the state’s restrictions on the dispensing of abortion drugs in the lawsuit, instead restricting federal regulations that protect access to drugs. , Stein’s office said Monday.
A decision by Democrat Stein means Republican legislative leaders who want to keep restrictions must seek formally to intervene in a federal lawsuit filed by Amy Bryant, a doctor who prescribes a drug called mifepristone. To do.
A lawsuit filed in January in the U.S. District Court in Durham, and another in West Virginia challenging abortion drug restrictions, Legal battle over access to drugs. a Texas lawsuit poses threats nationwide availability of drug abortionA lawsuit filed by anti-abortion advocates seeks to revoke mifepristone’s FDA approval.
Bryant’s lawsuit It would block the enforcement of state laws and regulations that it says would hinder its ability to provide mifepristone to patients. There is
North Carolina law requires that pills be dispensed directly only after a 72-hour waiting period and after the patient undergoes state-mandated counseling and possibly an ultrasound.
Stein supports abortion rights and is running for governor Next year, he will become a defendant in a lawsuit alongside the district attorney and state health officials. Stein and attorneys from the State Department of Justice are tasked with defending state law in court.
In this case, Bryant’s federal lien claim is “legally correct,” State Department of Justice general counsel Sarah Boyce wrote in a letter to House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate Speaker Phil Berger’s legislative counsel. is writing to
“Consistent with its statutory authority, the FDA has determined that restrictions such as those imposed under North Carolina law would place an undue burden on patient access to safe and effective medicines.” The (litigation) papers filed by the Department on behalf of the Department reflect this legal analysis on the merits.”
Spokespeople for Berger and Moore did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last June’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturned Law vs Wade — Leave abortion decision-making to the states — New focus on medical abortion. Nineteen states, including North Carolina and West Virginia, have laws regulating how, when, and where doctors can prescribe and dispense abortion drugs.
In 2000, the FDA approved mifepristone for use in combination with a second drug, misoprostol, to terminate pregnancies. This combination is approved for use up to the 10th week of pregnancy. The FDA has eliminated the face-to-face requirement for pills that can be mail-ordered or picked up at a brick-and-mortar pharmacy.