FRC Files Amicus Brief at SCOTUS in Support of Louisiana's Abortion Drug Lawsuit

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Earlier this week, Family Research Council (FRC) and Dr. Martha Shuping filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court in Danco Laboratories v. State of Louisiana in support of Louisiana's fight to end the flow of mail-order abortion drugs into pro-life states, against state and federal law.

In the brief, FRC and Dr. Shuping argued that "[in] 2022, on the day this Court decided Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, President Biden 'directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to identify all ways to ensure that mifepristone is as widely accessible as possible,' 'including when prescribed through telehealth and sent by mail.' On the same day, the HHS Secretary 'directed every part of my Department to do any and everything we can' to promote 'access' to 'medication abortion,' In a speech calling Dobbs 'despicable,' the Secretary pledged that 'HHS will take steps to increase access to medication abortion.' 'We will leave no stone unturned,' the Secretary said, and '[a]ll options are on the table.' Then President Biden issued an executive order formally requiring HHS to seek ways 'to protect and expand access to abortion care, including medication abortion.' Strangely, the JAMA article purporting to showthat FDA's actions had nothing to do with politics omitted all this.

"...What's more, none of the authors appears to have an expertise in interpreting FDA regulatory documents to assess its decision-making. The lead author, for instance, appears to be a program manager who received a master's in public health in 2024 and has no FDA experience. Unsurprisingly, the authors' 'qualitative review' aligned with their ideological support for abortion: one author said in 2023 that claims against FDA's mifepristone action were 'just not credible,' while another wrote that 'it is wrong for [courts] to override the highly specialized expertise, methodologies, and mandates of public health agencies and expert groups,' Of course, the authors are entitled to their opinions, and good research can be conducted by people with a viewpoint. But when the 'research' is just 'relate your feelings about documents,' it is hardly surprising that FDA defenders approve of whatever FDA documents they happened to see."

FRC president Tony Perkins, a former Louisiana state representative, commented:

"Not every woman taking the abortion drug has a choice. I saw this first-hand while I served as a police officer. Intimate partner violence is a growing problem in our country; this violence has many victims, not just women, but often their unborn children, who are wanted by their mothers. It has been deeply disturbing to see the Biden, and now unfortunately, Trump, administrations carry on this policy of allowing the abortion drug to be prescribed without an in-person doctor's visit. I pray the Supreme Court will recognize Louisiana's standing to protect mothers and the unborn," concluded Perkins.

To read the amicus brief, please see:

https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=LK26E40&f=LK26E40