United States Attorney General Merrick Garland says states cannot ban medication used in some abortions that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and that the Department of Justice is, “ready to work with other arms of the federal government that seek to use their lawful authorities to protect and preserve access to reproductive care. In particular, the FDA has approved the use of the medication Mifepristone. States may not ban Mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy.”This claim could clash with a law in the state of Louisiana, set to go into effect August 1, that prohibits distributors from distributing drugs for “abortion-inducing purposes.”Senate Bill 388 states that any person, company or physician caught distributing abortion-inducing drugs could face up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine and that anyone caught knowingly performing an abortion with an abortion-inducing drug could face up to five years in jail and up to a $50,000 fine. State Sen. Sharon Hewitt, who authored the bill banning drugs used for this purpose, says she believes the Supreme Court made it clear any decision on abortion is up to the states, with their reversal of Roe v. Wade on Friday.“What the Supreme Court said, is that abortion is a state right to regulate and we have said in the state of Louisiana that abortion is illegal except in the case of protecting the mother if she is at risk or the baby is not viable,” said the Republican representing the state’s first district. Hewitt also clarified the some drugs will not be illegal in the state. They are only restricted from being used to induce abortions, except in the case of a mother’s life being in danger or an unborn child being deemed not viable. Garland said, “The Justice Department will use every tool at our disposal to protect reproductive freedom.”It is unclear where the two sides go from here. Legal expert Robert Fanning says the situation is what he calls “uncharted waters,” and with the way the high court has been ruling recently, there is no telling where it could end up. Attorney General is correct i n his opinion that federal law preempts the state law and that you can’t tell us that this is illegal, because the FDA has said it’s a legal drug. But then with the court rulings we’ve been getting lately, you’d be doing that at your own risk,” Fanning said.
United States Attorney General Merrick Garland says states cannot ban medication used in some abortions that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and that the Department of Justice is, “ready to work with other arms of the federal government that seek to use their lawful authorities to protect and preserve access to reproductive care. In particular, the FDA has approved the use of the medication Mifepristone. States may not ban Mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy.”
This claim could clash with a law in the state of Louisiana, set to go into effect August 1, that prohibits distributors from distributing drugs for “abortion-inducing purposes.”
Senate Bill 388 states that any person, company or physician caught distributing abortion-inducing drugs could face up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine and that anyone caught knowingly performing an abortion with an abortion-inducing drug could face up to five years in jail and up to a $50,000 fine.
State Sen. Sharon Hewitt, who authored the bill banning drugs used for this purpose, says she believes the Supreme Court made it clear any decision on abortion is up to the states, with their reversal of Roe v. Wade on Friday.
“What the Supreme Court said, is that abortion is a state right to regulate and we have said in the state of Louisiana that abortion is illegal except in the case of protecting the mother if she is at risk or the baby is not viable,” said the Republican representing the state’s first district.
Hewitt also clarified the some drugs will not be illegal in the state. They are only restricted from being used to induce abortions, except in the case of a mother’s life being in danger or an unborn child being deemed not viable.
Garland said, “The Justice Department will use every tool at our disposal to protect reproductive freedom.”
It is unclear where the two sides go from here. Legal expert Robert Fanning says the situation is what he calls “uncharted waters,” and with the way the high court has been ruling recently, there is no telling where it could end up.
“All of these issues on abortion are going to be in court forever now… It may be that the Attorney General is correct in his opinion that federal law preempts the state law and that you can’t tell us that this is illegal, because the FDA has said it’s a legal drug. But then with the court rulings we’ve been getting lately, you’d be doing that at your own risk,” Fanning said.