WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 25: A total of 12 states in the US have launched a law-suit saying that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is hampering access to a popular abortion pill, the media reported.
Mifepristone, part of a two-drug regimen that induces abortions was approved in 2000, with restrictions to assure its safe use, reports the BBC.
The combination of mifepristone and another drug, misoprostol, is considered safe and highly effective in terminating pregnancies within the first 10 weeks. But while misoprostol is freely available, the FDA tightly controls who can prescribe and dispense mifepristone. The states of Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont launched the law- suit on Thursday at a federal court.
The lawsuit has claimed that the limits on the drug were not supported by evidence, adding that thus has created “burdensome restrictions” on a drug that is the “gold standard” for abortions and has a high safety profile.
