JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri (LifeSiteNews) — Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Thursday that she is challenging the FDA’s approval of the generic abortion pill, arguing that key protections were overlooked during its safety investigation.
In a press release, Hanaway commented on the dangers of allowing the crude drugs to be easily obtained through the mail after an extremely hasty and unsatisfactory review.
“Mifepristone is sending women to the hospital with life-threatening complications, and yet drug companies continue pushing new versions of it into the market without basic medical safeguards,” Hanaway said.
“Mail-order abortion drugs are dangerous when taken without in-person care, and Missouri will not stand by while manufacturers gamble with women’s lives.”
The lawsuit targets the latest approval of the abortion drug by the FDA on September 30, when the administration gave a “surprise approval” of the drug despite the agency stating they were in the process of investigating the safety of abortion pills. The approval drew large amounts of criticism, especially from Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who called the FDA’s safety review of the drug “toothless and irrelevant.”
“FDA is supposed to be conducting a review of the safety regulations around mifepristone,” Hawley stated.
“But because this new generic has been approved before any changes to those safety protocols, this drug may be exempted from any new safety standards imposed on mifepristone in the future. That would render your safety review toothless and irrelevant.”
Hanaway mentioned the specific dangers of the abortion pill in the lawsuit press release, attacking the claim that the medications are just as safe as other over-the-counter drugs like Tylenol. This is a claim for which Planned Parenthood has already faced litigation from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.
“No caring physician would call mifepristone ‘as safe as Tylenol,’” Hanaway said.
“That claim was always false. Women are ending up in emergency rooms, and manufacturers know it. If the FDA is reevaluating the brand-name drug’s safety, then it needs to stop rubber-stamping new mail-order generic versions before more women are hurt.”
The lawsuit aims not only to block the approval of the generic version of mifepristone but also to reimplement pre-2016 standards, making the drug approval process permanently more stringent.
“Every woman deserves real medical care, not a dangerous pill in a mailbox,” Hanaway concluded.
“Our lawsuit demands accountability from manufacturers and distributors and places women’s health above political pressure.”
