The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is asking a federal judge to reject a lawsuit seeking to withdraw the approval given to an abortion drug as plaintiffs accuse the agency of failing to follow proper regulatory standards and succumbing to political machinations during the approval process.
The lawsuit (pdf), filed by a group of pro-life medical doctors and organizations in November, challenges the FDA’s decision to approve the abortion drug mifepristone in 2000.
The lawsuit claims the drug poses an ongoing danger to women.
Mifepristone, available in a generic version and under the brand name Mifeprex, is used in conjunction with another drug for medication abortions within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. In its court filing on Tuesday, the FDA insisted that there was no basis for second-guessing its original judgment from 2000….