The Trump administration’s long-awaited decision to defend abortion pills in court has enraged anti-abortion leaders — further straining President Donald Trump’s relationship with the movement.
Justice Department attorneys said in a recent court filing in Missouri v. FDA that the case should not continue on procedural grounds. The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the original case, brought by a coalition of anti-abortion groups, because they lacked standing. The states of Missouri, Idaho and Kansas have since taken over the case and filed it in the U.S. Northern District Court of Texas, where it is being reviewed by Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who is viewed as friendly to the anti-abortion movement.
The Trump administration inherited the case from the Biden administration and is essentially making the same argument as Biden — that the plaintiffs lack standing. But Trump’s DOJ isn’t arguing that mifepristone is safe and effective — Biden’s DOJ did — and is open to future challenges against the pill.
“The States are free to pursue their claims in a District where venue is proper,” the administration wrote in its brief.
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Anti-abortion advocates were left baffled by the move.
Sen. Josh Hawley, a staunch anti-abortion ally, sent a letter on Wednesday to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging her to “reconsider the Justice Department’s defense.”
“While the grounds for dismissal sought are mostly procedural in nature, I am troubled by the fact that the Justice Department has sided with the Biden administration’s position,” Hawley wrote.
The Missouri senator recently introduced a bill this week that would require the Department of Health and Human Services to reimpose restrictions on mifepristone. The legislation would make it so the pill is only accessible in person and allow medication abortion patients to sue the telehealth providers and pharmacies who prescribed the pill.
While the administration has signaled that it’s open to reinstating restrictions on the pill, the Justice Department’s position in the Missouri case upset anti-abortion groups who want the government to move quickly.
“It’s disappointing to see the Trump Administration make a paperwork kind of argument about where a case has been filed, rather than getting to the heart of the matter,” Kristi Hamrick, vice president of media and policy for Students for Life Action, told NOTUS in a statement.
“The Trump Administration does not need a court case or a law to make a change to this policy. The FDA could pull Chemical Abortion Pills and begin again,” Hamrick continued. “HHS and the DOJ could call for enforcement of the Comstock Act, to stop the pill traffickers blatantly violating the laws of pro-life states to make a quick sale.”
Similarly, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said in a statement that “[t]his motion is about who has the right to sue, not whether abortion drugs are safe.”
“At a minimum, the Trump administration should reverse the Biden FDA’s reckless nationwide mail-order abortion drug policy. We urge the Trump administration to reinstate basic measures that require real medical oversight,” the group said.
But some in the movement still believe the Trump administration will act on their demands.
“My position is exactly what this post says from SBA,” Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, told NOTUS. He added that the administration should “ultimately restore the proper safeguards against the abortion drugs, but I am very confident that it will.”
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Oriana González is a reporter at NOTUS.
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