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U.S. abortion pill access threatened by Texas lawsuit

The legal battle over the abortion pill in the U.S. and how a Trump-appointed Texas judge is hearing arguments that could suppress access to the medication nation-wide.
Boxes of pills sit on a shelf.
Boxes of the drug mifepristone sit on a shelf at the West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on March 16, 2022. (Allen G. Breed/The Associated Press)

It's been less than a year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and now abortions are banned in 13 states. And in several other states, abortion is prohibited after a certain length of pregnancy.

But now the new frontier in the legal fight is all about the abortion pill as a Texas judge weighs arguments from anti-abortion groups who are suing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These groups want the judge to order the FDA to withdraw its two decades-long approval of a drug called mifepristone that's used in abortion pills. If this happens, it could curtail access to abortion pills across the entire country. 

Mary Ziegler, a professor at the University of California's Davis School of Law, shares her thoughts on this case and other efforts that are contributing to the uncertain legal landscape for the abortion pill in the United States.

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