An abortion-inducing drug’s manufacturer has dropped its lawsuit challenging Mississippi’s restrictions on the provision and use of the drug, in connection with “the changed national landscape” in the wake of the US Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson.
GenBioPro Inc., which manufacturers mifepristone, a generic medical abortion pill approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, sued the state of Mississippi over the state’s stricter requirements for using the pill. In the complaint filed in 2020, GenBioPro argued that Mississippi’s laws were unconstitutional because the FDA approval of mifepristone preempted the restrictions.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch released a statement following GenBioPro’s notice of voluntary dismissal on Thursday, reiterating a part of her brief filed earlier this month:
[GenBioPro]’s preemption claim relies on the proposition that the FDA’s “statutorily-authorized [Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS)] for mifepristone” creates a uniform national policy that preempts state laws banning medication abortion. But there is no such federal policy. If anything, federal law adopts the opposite policy from what [GenBioPro] claims. Federal law criminalizes the use of the mails to do what [GenBioPro] demands this Court allow it to do: distribute abortion-inducing drugs.
Mississippi’s 2007 “trigger law” came into effect last month, making nearly all abortions illegal unless “necessary for the preservation of the mother’s life or where the pregnancy was caused by rape.”
GenBioPro also released a statement following its notice:
Given the changed national landscape, we have decided to adjust our strategy and withdraw our existing case in Mississippi. We are committed to using the law to remove unnecessary barriers for patients and providers and we look forward to making an announcement soon about our next steps.
Mississippi Today said that Sen. Joey Fillingane told it in May that a law focusing on medication abortion and making it a law enforcement priority could be passed by the state legislature.
