A federal judge has permanently stopped certain efforts in North Carolina aimed at limiting how abortion pills are distributed, ruling that these efforts contradict the authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
However, she allowed other state laws to remain intact, providing only a partial win to a doctor who brought the lawsuit.
The injunction issued on Monday by U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles in Greensboro makes her April 30 decision final. In that ruling, she found that some of North Carolina’s regulations on medication abortion were preempted by FDA decisions, which concluded these regulations were unnecessary.
The latest order means North Carolina cannot enforce rules that require only doctors to prescribe the pills, that the medication be given in person to the patient, or that mandate a follow-up appointment. It also prevents enforcement of these rules with criminal, civil, or professional penalties.
Congress granted the FDA authority to oversee the use of mifepristone, which was approved by the agency in 2000 for ending pregnancy in combination with another drug called misoprostol.
Abortion Rights Protestors (Via Munank Sharma/Shutterstock)
Judge Eagles noted that the FDA specifically determined that restrictions similar to those in North Carolina were no longer needed, based on assessments of their safe use and distribution, as she had previously written in April.
Her ruling implies that patients in North Carolina can now obtain the pills from pharmacies, prescribed by a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, or through telehealth, and use them at home, consistent with FDA decisions.
However, Judge Eagles upheld certain challenged restrictions, such as requiring an in-person consultation 72 hours before, an in-person exam, and an ultrasound before receiving a prescription. She reasoned that these rules either hadn’t been explicitly reviewed and rejected by the FDA or were more focused on medical practice and patient health in general.
