A federal appeals panel expressed skepticism Tuesday during oral arguments in a case challenging West Virginia’s abortion laws, arguing they effectively limited access to a commonly used medication abortion drug. Medication abortions refer to a two-step regimen in which a patient takes mifepristone, which ends a pregnancy, followed by a second drug, misoprostol, which expels the pregnancy. The drugs are used for the majority of U.
S. abortions. They’re also used for miscarriage management.
West Virginia in 2022 banned almost all abortions and required a mandatory waiting period and counseling requirements before receiving the procedure. GenBioPro, which manufactures generic mifepristone, sued two West Virginia prosecutors in January 2023 over that ban, arguing that state law makes it impossible for residents to access the drug and for the company to do business in the state. In August, a district judge dismissed GenBioPro’s case, ruling that West Virginia’s law supersedes the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug.
The case was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Va.
, which heard oral arguments Tuesday. The case, GenBioPro v. Raynes, is one of several recent lawsuits regarding regulations and access to mifepristone, which has become a front in the battle over abortion access.
The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000 and GenBioPro’s generic version in 2019. Abortion opponents have repeatedly challenged regulations to and .
