April 14, 2023

Democratic AGs Partially Successful in Amicus Effort to Obtain Stay of Mifepristone Decision Pending Appeal

Lori Kalani, Bernard Nash

Cozen O'Connor

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Cozen O'Connor

A coalition of 24 Democratic AGs filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, urging the court to stay pending the appeal of a district court’s ruling that, if allowed to take full effect, would have stayed the effective date of the FDA’s 2000 approval of abortion drug mifepristone pending further litigation. Near midnight on April 12, the Fifth Circuit issued a complex order staying part of the lower court’s ruling while allowing parts to go into effect during the pendency of the appeal.
In the brief, the AGs had asserted that medication abortion is safe and effective and mifepristone was properly approved over two decades ago. They urged that a stay of the district court’s order is necessary, in part, because the ruling will impact the ability of patients to access abortions even in states where such care is legal. The AGs explained that the amici states hold an interest in preserving their sovereign decision to protect their residents’ ability to access abortions in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs
We have previously covered both Republican and Democratic AG involvement in the Texas mifepristone lawsuit.

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