The New War on Abortion Drugs

[marmar]

(Mother Jones) Can a state ban a type of abortion, entirely? That's the question the US Supreme Court is now weighing.

In June, the court agreed to hear a challenge to a 2011 Oklahoma law that bars doctors from prescribing abortion drugs, unless they follow the FDA label. Supporters of the bill argue the goal is to protect women's health. "Oklahoma has acted to regulate a dangerous off-label use of a drug regimen that is tied to the deaths of at least eight women," says Mailee Smith, a lawyer for Americans United for Life, which drafted the legislation. But critics maintain the language is so broad it would block access to all abortion drugs—including those used to treat life-threatening ectopic pregnancies. And the Oklahoma Supreme Court agrees. In response to a query from the US Supreme Court, on Tuesday the state court ruled that the bill effectively "bans all medication abortions" and thus is unconstitutional.

It may seem counterintuitive that following the FDA labeling would hamper access. But two of the three most commonly used abortion drugs, misoprostol and methotrexate, were initially approved to treat other conditions. The World Health Organization and independent researchers have since found that they are a safe and effective way to end an early pregnancy, and doctors routinely prescribe them for this purpose. But the drugs' manufacturers never went through the costly process of updating their FDA labels. This is not unusual. Once a drug is approved, the FDA normally doesn't change the label unless new risks come to light. But doctors are free to tailor treatments to reflect the latest research, which is one reason that roughly 20 percent of all outpatient prescriptions are off label. .......................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/10/oklahoma-supreme-court-abortion-decision

[LuvNewcastle]

1. It doesn't seem to me that they could get away with saying that a drug

must be used as recommended by the FDA. It's common for drugs to have off-label uses, and it's generally up to the doctor to decide which is the right drug for a particular condition. Unless OK wants to restrict all drugs to be used as the FDA recommends, it's not fair for them to pull such a stunt with abortion drugs.

I wish we had a Supreme Court that would tell all these states that abortion is legal and they need to stop trying to find a way to ban it, because it's a waste of time and money. We'll have to get rid of a few justices for that to happen, however.