West Virginia permitted to regulate the sale of abortion pills
Gabrielle M. Etzel
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A U.S. federal judge ruled late on Thursday that West Virginia can restrict the sale of abortion pills, saying that the state’s near-total abortion ban takes priority over the drug’s approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
U.S. District Court Judge Robert Chambers, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, ruled in the case that the United States Supreme Court “has made it clear that regulating abortion is a matter of health and safety upon which States may appropriately exercise their police power.”
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GenBioPro, the only domestic manufacturer of the generic version of the abortion agent mifepristone, argued that the state cannot block the sale of a federally approved medication.
Chambers reasoned, however, that states have “an even stronger interest and history” than the federal government in regulating medical professionals as well as general health and medical licensing.
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“While it may not sit well with manufacturers of abortion drugs, the U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that regulating abortion is a state issue,” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a press release. “I will always stand strong for the life of the unborn.”
Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) signed a total abortion ban into law in September 2022 that was passed through the state legislature. The ban includes exceptions for saving the life of the mother, fatal fetal anomalies, and police-documented cases of rape and incest, but abortions performed under these exceptions must occur within eight weeks of pregnancy.