By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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WEDNESDAY, July 16, 2025 (HealthDay News) \u2014 A federal appeals court has ruled that West Virginia can limit access to mifepristone, a medication used to end early pregnancies.<\/p>\n
The decision is the first of its kind and could affect how other states handle access to drugs that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).<\/p>\n
Mifepristone<\/a> is part of a two-drug regimen used in medication abortions<\/a>. It has been FDA-approved since 2000 and is considered a safe and effective alternative to surgical abortion, The Washington Post<\/em> said.<\/p>\n The drug has become a focus of legal fights over abortion access, especially since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade<\/em> in 2022.<\/p>\n Since that decision, medication abortion has accounted for more than half of all abortions in the U.S., according to the Guttmacher Institute, a public policy think tank focused on reproductive rights.<\/p>\n After the court\u2019s 2022 decision, West Virginia passed a law banning nearly all abortions, including medication abortions, with very few exceptions, such as to save the mother\u2019s life or in cases of rape or incest.<\/p>\n The ruling this week came after GenBioPro<\/a>, one of the few makers of generic mifepristone, sued West Virginia.<\/p>\n The company argued that FDA approval should overrule state law, The Post <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n But the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. In a 2-1 ruling<\/a>, the court said federal law does not clearly prevent states from making their own decisions about restrictions on drugs.<\/p>\n The federal law \u201cfalls well short of expressing a clear intention to displace the states\u2019 historic and sovereign right to protect the health and safety of their citizens,\u201d the court said, according to The Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n GenBioPro CEO Evan Masingill warned the ruling could cause \u201ca dangerous ripple effect on the availability of essential medications in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n Seventeen states ban or heavily restrict medication abortion.<\/p>\n Greer Donley<\/a>, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh, said the ruling could change how states regulate other FDA-approved medication, including vaccines, contraceptives and care used in gender transitions.<\/p>\n \u201cIn some ways, this case is green-lighting the state to be political in how it regulates medications,\u201d she told The Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n The dissenting judge wrote that West Virginia\u2019s law \u201cinvades the very space occupied by the federal government and reserved for federal oversight \u2014 the regulation of medication.\u201d<\/p>\n Writing for the majority, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III<\/a> said regulating how drugs are used in medical practice falls under state control, not the FDA.<\/p>\n West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey<\/a> celebrated the ruling.<\/p>\n \u201cWest Virginia can continue to enforce our pro-life laws and lead the nation in our efforts to protect life,” he said.<\/p>\n U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr<\/a>. has previously said he has asked the FDA to conduct a full review of mifepristone\u2019s safety.<\/p>\n An HHS spokesperson declined to comment on the West Virginia ruling.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n The Mayo Clinic has more on mifepristone<\/a>.<\/p>\n