Texas sues Biden administration for asking pharmacies to fill reproductive health prescriptions

WASHINGTON — Texas sued the administration of US President Joe Biden on Tuesday to forestall it from asking pharmacies to fill reproductive health prescriptions.

The Biden administration stated in July 2022 that refusing to fill prescriptions for medication that might be used to terminate a being pregnant may violate federal regulation, no matter varied state bans on the process.

This steering from the Biden administration, which concerned roughly 60,000 US retail pharmacies, got here days after Biden signed an government order easing entry to providers to terminate pregnancies after the US Supreme Courtroom overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling that made abortions authorized nationwide.

The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in opposition to the US Division of Health and Human Companies within the US District Courtroom for the Western District of Texas. 

The division didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark late on Tuesday.

“The Biden administration knows that it has no legal authority to institute this radical abortion agenda, so now it’s trying to intimidate every pharmacy in America by threatening to withhold federal funds,” Texas Lawyer Basic Ken Paxton stated in an announcement on Tuesday.

White Home officers stated in January that 60 anti-abortion payments have been filed within the 2023 legislative session and over 26 million ladies at the moment stay in U.S. states which have banned abortion.

The Meals and Drug Administration stated in January that abortion tablets would turn out to be extra broadly out there at pharmacies and thru the mail. A authorized battle is beneath method at a federal courtroom in Texas, the place abortion opponents have sued to undo the approval of the medication.

A bunch of 20 Republican state attorneys normal final week informed Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc and CVS Health Corp that they threat operating afoul of federal and state regulation in the event that they dispense the abortion drug mifepristone by mail.

Walgreens and CVS have stated they intend to turn out to be licensed and dispense the drug in states the place abortion is authorized, although neither has but completed so. — Reuters

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