North Dakota Law Banning All Drug-Induced Abortions Is Challenged In Court

WASHINGTON -- A new North Dakota law that imposes restrictions on the FDA-approved drugs used to induce abortions would effectively ban all non-surgical abortions in the state, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR).

Pregnancies terminated by medication, known as early medication abortions, are extremely safe and common, accounting for about one-quarter of all first-trimester abortions and 17 percent of all non-hospital abortions. Abortions performed in the first trimester pose "virtually no long-term risk" of fertility problems, according to a recent Guttmacher Institute study, and the World Health Organization has recognized that medication abortions are less expensive and have fewer side effects than surgical abortions.

The North Dakota law, effective Aug. 1, bans the off-label use of the two drugs used in medication abortion procedures (mifepristone and misoprostol), and mandates that they be used according to the original protocol "tested and authorized" by the Food and Drug Administration. However, the FDA never tests or authorizes protocols, according to CRR, and one of the drugs was originally labeled as a treatment for gastric ulcers, so it is literally impossible for abortion doctors to satisfy those requirements of the law.

North Dakota law does not ban the off-label use of any other FDA-approved medications.

"This is a guise," Nancy Northop, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, told HuffPost. "While they purport that it's a law to protect women's health, it actually does the opposite, because it denies women in North Dakota a safe and effective alternative to surgical abortion."

According to CRR's complaint, the bill places "unconstitutional burdens" on women in North Dakota who seek abortions. There is only one abortion clinic in North Dakota, and it only performs abortions four to six days per month. About 20 percent of the abortions in North Dakota are medication abortions.

Moreover, Northop said, the law forces a woman to have a surgical abortion even when the procedure is unnecessary or medically inadvisable.

“North Dakota has enacted a law that defies reason, science, and the expertise of doctors worldwide in an underhanded effort to deny women their legal right to terminate a pregnancy safely, early, and in accordance with their doctors’ advice and their own wishes,” she said. “It is unimaginable that any other medical procedures would be targeted for restrictions aimed at reducing their effectiveness and increasing their expense and inconvenience."

State Sen. David Hogue (R), a co-sponsor of the bill, told HuffPost that he and his conservative colleagues think it's fair to treat the abortion drugs differently under the law than all other FDA-approved drugs because they "trigger the equivalent of a surgical procedure." He said he couldn't remember whether the bill was intended to ban all non-surgical abortions.

"I don't recall that as part of the discussions I had," he said.

Northup said CRR is considering legal challenges to similar legislation in Ohio and Oklahoma.

"We don't think these irrational laws should be standing anywhere," she told HuffPost. "Women have the right to access abortion and to access the right type of abortion procedure for them."

Comments

[tmfallschurch]

07:40 PM on 07/28/2011

If there is a God. Abortion is murder!

[camanokat]

10:11 PM on 08/01/2011

Don't worry. Chances are pretty good there is no god, especially the way the bible portrays it.

[FaceTheTruth00]

08:25 AM on 07/28/2011

I think this is a bad idea. While the abortion pill is no walk in the park -- I have experience helping my roommate with the aftermath -- it's much less invasive than surgery.

[hgus]

03:32 PM on 07/21/2011

I wish the GOP was more interested in reducing the number of abortion. They just seem to be focused on putting people in jail for it.

[NikitaAhn]

01:16 AM on 07/20/2011

The audacity of the GOP is alarming and appalling. What on earth do they think gives them the right to wedge themselves between a doctor and patient and dictate care? Wasn't that one of their main concerns with universal health care? And yet here they are, overriding actual trained physicians in deciding what medical care a woman receives. It's sickening. They're going to force women to undergo a more risky, more invasive, more expensive procedure for no reason other than their political maneuverings.

You know, before Viagra the only way to treat severe ED was through surgical procedures like penile implants. I wonder how well it would go over if we made it impossible for doctors to use Viagra since it simulates what was once a surgical procedure. I imagine there'd be an outraged backlash to that and all sorts of talk about "big government" interfering with personal rights. Funny how protective some people are of their reproductive systems, eh?

This attack on women's reproductive freedoms is frightening and outrageous. Stay the heck out of my uterus, GOP. It's private property and no one is welcome without an explicit invitation.

[tmfallschurch]

07:47 PM on 07/28/2011

What the hell does ED have to do with abortion? This is about killing and discard of a human.

[NikitaAhn]

08:35 PM on 07/28/2011

Did you read the article? The justification given for not allowing chemical abortions (which are safer and less invasive for the patient receiving a LEGAL medical procedure) is that the drugs "simulate a surgical procedure" and should not be used. My point was that we have LOTS of drugs that simulate surgical procedures (like Viagra) and that their argument is flawed because no one raises a stink about those drugs. This is an outright attack on women's reproductive freedom being veiled in "genuine medical concern".

They're putting the wellbeing of actual people above a non-sentient cluster of cells. Which is obviously something YOU can relate to.

[camanokat]

09:00 PM on 07/29/2011

It becomes a human when it can breathe.

[BRAINS4USA]

09:03 PM on 07/19/2011

Here the repubs go again. A long expensive legal battle which will be lost by North Dakota. Women will have to undergo surgery - more expensive, much more invasive and most of all it is bad for womens health. It creates no jobs nor does it stop any waste - it even increases waste.
The reason is of course to make the abortion process even more difficult than it already is. This because the beliefs of the ReliTeaCra­zies must prevail. Which is against the constituti­on that says no law shall be made that forces religion upon the people. This one most definitely does. It is religion because there is no other reason why humans make crazy decisions and laws. And it shows, that even in the saddest of times, ReliTeaCra­zies will stop at nothing, and they do not care about you, me or our great nation in any way - as long as their beliefs prevail. How anyone can vote for them..Its beyond me.

[dan laurie]

07:32 PM on 07/19/2011

CJ what if we dont get the debt ceiling passed..World Depression.Will wall street Fall and not be able to get up???

[icstars]

02:15 PM on 07/19/2011

"...it's fair to treat the abortion drugs differently under the law than all other FDA-approved drugs because they "trigger the equivalent of a surgical procedure." He said he couldn't remember whether the bill was intended to ban all non-surgical abortions."

It's "fair?" I assume he meant that ironically. What about all the other FDA-approved drugs that "trigger the equivalent of a surgical procedures?" And what does he really think of drugs that were originally intended for one purpose but are now effectively used for other purposes? Does he even know viagra was originally studied to treat hypertension? A lot of men in this country are happy that it turns out to be useful in another regard.

Stating that he doesn't remember the intention of a bill he co-sponsored is the height of stupidity, and North Dakotans should be embarrassed to have him in their state senate.

[FaceTheTruth00]

08:29 AM on 07/28/2011

It really doesn't even trigger the equivalent of a surgical procedure. For the most part, it would be equivalent to inducing labor; which doctors do every day.

I'm not a fan of abortion, but the medication does have existing use in delivering a live baby.

[schnauzergirl]

01:43 PM on 07/19/2011

"think it's fair to treat the abortion drugs differently under the law than all other FDA-approved drugs because they "trigger the equivalent of a surgical procedure."

So does chemotheraqpy. Lets see them try to ban that.

[Demidan]

03:48 PM on 07/19/2011

They are, it's called Voucher care.

[camanokat]

09:02 PM on 07/29/2011

You beat me to it.

[Watching rock grow]

01:08 PM on 07/19/2011

What does the private decisions of women to control their reproductive lives for the betterment of themselves and families? Mean before the Republican desire of ‘robust reproduction’ absolutely nothing.

[Dana1982]

11:53 AM on 07/19/2011

I'll never have an abortion. Why should I even care if they are made illegal or not?

[LadyAurora]

12:31 PM on 07/19/2011

Because some day your daughter or granddaughter might need/want one.

Because millions of women over the decades and millions of women in the future want their right to choose and not have some religious zealot tell them no.

[trmjc1]

01:34 PM on 07/19/2011

Thank you!!

[Dana1982]

02:05 PM on 07/19/2011

And million of people want to right to keep firearms in their homes and persons to make them feel safe, yet many pf your supporters activly deny them the right to do so even when they have the constitutional right to do so.

Truth is you only want to protect "rights" that you care about and want to take away others rights. Since you actively attack my rights, I just don't care about the "rights" you support, even though abortion isn't a right.

This is the reason I vote pro life.

[KaraC]

12:43 PM on 07/19/2011

I'll never have cystic fibrosis or congenital adrenal hyperplasia so why should I care if a cure is found? I'll never be black so why should I care if black people are treated fairly? You have a choice, and you choose to never have an abortion. I presume you came to a carefully considered moral position on that issue. Don't you think that other women should have the right to do the same?

[judibluiz]

01:27 PM on 07/19/2011

Well said Kara, well said. Fanned and Faved.

[trmjc1]

01:34 PM on 07/19/2011

Thank you KaraC!!!

[pita143]

11:35 AM on 07/19/2011

Abortion has been going on since the Dawn of Man and will continue until the End of Mankind. You can not stop it but you can reduce it by Education and open access to contraception that does not involve going through a bunch of protesters verbally attacking you.

I wonder if anyone considered that the lack of access to Abortion Services could dramatically increase the number of Assaults on Woman. A guy does not like the idea that the Woman got Pregnant and so he resort to physical attacks on that woman in an attempt to eliminate the problem, if may just outright kill her.

I am sorry but this has a track record of being the case in many places.

I remember that one of the biggest complaints from the Republicans about the Health Care Bill was that the Government would get between a Doctor and the Patient......but NOW they want to do the exact same thing, in spades.

[wrightthewrong]

01:03 PM on 07/19/2011

And I don't want any of these creeps anywhere near my uterus.

[pita143]

02:04 PM on 07/19/2011

Exactly.....I suggest you use this line:

"Keep your Theology off my Biology"

Someone gave me that, and I keep passing it along to any Woman I can.

[TFlint]

11:14 AM on 07/19/2011

Outlawing abortion is not a real issue. It is the carrot on a stick thst Karl Rove devised to hypnotize the ignorant masses. Republicans will never seriously try to outlaw abortions or they would loose their carrot.

[Consequence]

12:11 PM on 07/19/2011

Karl Rove still drives libiots up a wall.


I am really beginning to like this guy.

[Watching rock grow]

01:11 PM on 07/19/2011

Got on the train late, ugh?

[synergie]

06:39 PM on 07/19/2011

As if you don't have a dark altar set up for him already.

[wrightthewrong]

01:04 PM on 07/19/2011

Carrot #2 is birth control.

[albar]

11:11 AM on 07/19/2011

How come that a certain group of people thinks they have THE RIGHT to force their believes on the rest of us?

Since the economy and the country is in the tank, thank you very much Republicans, and will not recover for many years to come, again thank you republicans, there should be a new law to restrict the number of children to ONE per female.

How about that?

[iamone3]

11:34 AM on 07/19/2011

If that sounds good to you, you would be happy living in China. Goodbye.

[synergie]

08:15 PM on 07/19/2011

Actually, China is more similar to the Republican view of the State's powers. Total control, dictates from upon high, the state tells you what you must believe and the "rules" only apply to the average person, not the elite, and of course the state decides what you will do with your uterus not you.

Perhaps you folks should be taking that trip.

[StopMakingSense2]

11:42 AM on 07/19/2011

The only freedoms that matter are the ones republicans/conservatives like. Same approach as they have to religion, ignore the parts they don't like and beat everyone over the head with the rest. What would Jesus do? Wouldn't be a republican, wouldn't be rich, wouldn't kick the down trodden. Hypocrisy without a doubt! Beliefs that are not self evident and have to be forced on others have no lasting value..

[Kiranitisme]

11:09 AM on 07/19/2011

Where are the jobs?

[StopMakingSense2]

11:45 AM on 07/19/2011

As with the deficit you didn't believe a word the republicans said did you? It's all about shrinking government to where they can drown it in the bathtub. If that means no jobs, huge deficits, the decline of America in the eyes of the world, republicans are good with all that!

[shirlyujest]

11:07 AM on 07/19/2011

I've been thinking about how to organize the women in this country so we can protect our hard won rights.  We managed to get the vote due to the dedicated hardworking efforts of women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony among many, many others.  It began in earnest in 1848 and took until 1920 to actually happen.  We must not allow these creeping grab backs of women's rights to go one step further.

No one, in particular no man, and no government has the right to invade and shut down a woman's right to her own body and the choices she makes.  The R's are beginning with choice in this matter, are already making noises about banning the birth control pill and if we are not careful may begin to make noises about, oh, I don't know, equal pay, voting rights, and so on.

We must wake up to the insidious, underhanded, creeping work that is going on to hobble women and take away our hard won rights.  I've re-read what I've written and I can see that some might think that I'm over-reacting, but frankly, I don't think we've even begun to realize how much danger we, as women, are in from the teabagging, evangiconical, neo-conservative Republican Party.

[juicybrisket]

01:39 PM on 07/19/2011

they will leave us alone if we incorporate the uterus

[rocketdog56]

02:26 PM on 07/19/2011

Amen, faved, from a longtime fan.