Biden admin says reversing abortion pill's FDA approval would harm public interest

The Biden administration is urging a federal judge to keep in place federal approval for an abortion drug, saying it would harm the public interest if it is withdrawn.

The court filing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is part of a lawsuit by pro-life groups challenging the agency's 2000 approval of mifepristone, a drug used for medication abortions.

"The public interest would be dramatically harmed by effectively withdrawing from the marketplace a safe and effective drug that has lawfully been on the market for twenty-two years," FDA lawyers said in the filing to U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who is based in Amarillo, Texas.

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The lawsuit was filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, which argues the FDA improperly accelerated the approval of the drug and failed to study the risks for minors. 

"No abortion is safe, and chemical abortions are particularly dangerous," said Julie Blake, senior counsel for the group. "The FDA, by approving chemical abortion drugs for home use, puts a woman or girl's life at risk."

In a June letter from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association to the Biden administration, health officials wrote more than 3 million people have used the drug since its approval and that there was "robust evidence exists regarding the safety of mifepristone."

Mifepristone is used in conjunction with another drug to terminate pregnancies within the first 10 weeks. On Jan. 3, the FDA said it will allow retail pharmacies to sell the drug.

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Danco Laboratories, the maker of mifepristone, on Friday also asked to intervene in the lawsuit to protect its ability to sell the drug.

Reuters contributed to this report.