ST. LOUIS — Missouri's Attorney General is at the center of a move that could impact access to reproductive care in Missouri and across the nation.
Last Friday, Andrew Bailey joined AGs in Kansas and Idaho in the fight to roll back access to abortion medication Mifepristone across the country by filing a lawsuit against the FDA.
Over the summer, a group of anti-abortion doctors tried to challenge the FDA on the medication but got denied by the Supreme Court for lacking "standing."
"You have to show that you personally as the plaintiff have stake in it. Meaning you are affected by it directly and you stand to be harmed," explained Dr. Kelly Gillespie, professor and director for the Center of Health Law Studies at SLU. "Now you have states. Three states saying, 'Well, we have standing. Because the actions of the federal government and the Food and Drug Administration are causing us as a state harm.'"
Gillespie said there could be some progress with this new approach.
"I think they may have some luck in the trial. The lowest level court—the court where they filed the action, which was the northern district of Texas—that district court in particular has been more likely to allow states to have standing in certain issues," she added.
Here is what is included in the filing:
- Prevent the medication from being mailed to pregnant women
- Making it illegal for minors to receive Mifepristone entirely
- Patients wouldn't be able to use the drug after seven weeks of pregnancy instead of 10
- A patient would have to have three in-person visits with the doctor instead of none.
"Having that many visits. It really does make it all the more difficult to access appropriate medical care and I think that's the point," Gillespie said.
5 On Your Side reached out to Planned Parenthood, a strong supporter of the medication, for a response to the new filing.
Dr. Colleen McNicholas, Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, said in a statement:
"The attorney general is once again ignoring science and looking for ways to continue to harm Missourians. Mifepristone is safe, effective, and the preferred abortion method for many. The general public continues to be clear that they do not want the government involved in their healthcare decisions, and abortion is no different. Attacks on mifepristone are attacks on healthy pregnancies and healthy families. As the Attorney General continues to demonstrate his disregard for the health and well being of Missourians, Planned Parenthood will continue to do what it does best: center patients and deliver scientifically grounded, life saving healthcare."