The Biden administration and mifepristone manufacturer Danco Laboratories LLC are intensifying their efforts to end a legal battle over the abortion medication, mifepristone. In a 15-page reply brief filed on Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urged U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk to dismiss or transfer the case, arguing that the intervening states—Missouri, Idaho, and Kansas—lack standing to continue litigating the matter in Texas federal court.
The case stems from a lawsuit initially filed in 2022 by anti-abortion medical groups and providers, alleging that the FDA overstepped its authority in approving mifepristone for mail delivery and extending its usage from seven weeks to 10 weeks of pregnancy. The legal dispute escalated when Judge Kacsmaryk ruled in April 2023 that the FDA’s approval of mifepristone should be suspended, drawing national attention. However, this ruling was partially reversed on appeal by the Fifth Circuit, and before the U.S. Supreme Court issued its final ruling, three states intervened in January, claiming they had a vested interest in the case.