{"id":284430,"date":"2023-01-27T08:45:09","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T14:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=284430"},"modified":"2023-01-27T00:19:01","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T06:19:01","slug":"abortion-pill-manufacturer-west-virginia-violated-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-pill-manufacturer-west-virginia-violated-constitution\/","title":{"rendered":"Abortion pill manufacturer argues West Virginia violated constitution by restricting drug"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Abortion pill manufacturer GenBioPro has asked a court to halt West Virginia\u2019s restrictions on the drug mifepristone, opening another legal avenue for blunting states\u2019 post-Roe<\/em> powers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Filed Wednesday, the company\u2019s <\/span>lawsuit<\/span><\/a> argues that West Virginia violated the U.S. Constitution by stepping on the Food and Drug Administration\u2019s (FDA) authority and harming interstate commerce.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The state had laid out several restrictions on using the pill (e.g. via telemedicine) before passing in September the Unborn Child Protection Act, which bans most abortions. Derisively referring to the law as the \u201cCriminal Abortion Ban,\u201d GenBioPro argued that it severely constricted the market for mifepristone statewide. The company\u2019s suit also noted that it \u201csells only generic mifepristone and misoprostol. Both drugs are used in medication abortions, and their sales are the company\u2019s sole source of revenue.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey defended the law with a brief statement in which he cited the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in Dobbs<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Walgreens<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are prepared to defend West Virginia\u2019s new abortion law to the fullest,\u201d Morrisey said in a press release Wednesday. \u201cWhile it may not sit well with manufacturers of abortion drugs, the U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that regulating abortion is a state issue. I will stand strong for the life of the unborn and will not relent in our defense of this clearly constitutional law.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

GenBioPro is attempting to argue that \u201c[s]tates are not free to second-guess or override\u201d the FDA\u2019s regulatory authority. Its lawsuit adds that \u201c[t]he Supreme Court\u2019s decision in Dobbs did not displace Congress\u2019s and FDA\u2019s roles in protecting the public health by deciding whether drugs are safe and effective, determining which precautions \u2014 if any \u2014 are necessary to ensure a drug\u2019s safe use, and ensuring safe and effective drugs are available to the public. Dobbs addressed only the underlying personal constitutional privacy right as it pertains to abortion; it did not speak to federal law regulating a drug maker\u2019s sale and distribution of, or a patient\u2019s access to, medication that is FDA-approved for distribution nationwide.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n