Dems’ Bill Would Give FDA Sway on Medication Abortion

House Democrats reportedly were set to introduce a bill on Monday affirming that the Food and Drug Administration has the final say in approving drugs used in medication abortion.

Axios reported that the action was expected in response to a Texas federal court ruling on abortion pills.

According Axios, legal experts say the decision staying the FDA’s authorization of the widely used drug mifepristone could set a precedent in allowing courts to define drug approval policy.

The Biden administration appealed the decision by District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk. It’s set to take effect Friday.

District Court Judge Thomas Rice in Washington state on Friday ordered U.S. authorities not to make any changes that would restrict access to the abortion medication mifepristone in 17 Democratic-led states that sued over the issue, countering Kacsmaryk’s ruling.

Rice ruled the FDA’s mifepristone authorization cannot be suspended because it would alter the “status quo.”

The dueling rulings make it almost certain the Supreme Court will get involved in another another fight over abortion rights, less than a year after it overturned Roe v. Wade, Axios reported.

The expected bill from Democrats in Congress would be their first legislative response to Kacsmaryk’s ruling, but faces long odds in the GOP-controlled House.

The largely symbolic measure from Reps. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., and Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, would clarify that the FDA has final say in medication abortion over any state law, as well as allow health care providers to prescribe abortion pills via telemedicine, Axios reported.

Ryan, who won a special election in August 2022 after making abortion the focus of his campaign, introduced a version of the legislation shortly after being sworn in as a wave of red states began enacting abortion bans, Axios reported.

“[T]he Texas decision has nothing to do with science or medicine,” Ryan told Axios in a statement.

“This legislation will reaffirm the FDA’s approval authority and protect doctors who use telemedicine to prescribe medication abortion,” he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.