Trump admin seeks stay, dismissal of two more pro-life lawsuits against abortion pill

March 19, 2026

Florida and Texas are facing challenges from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) over the states’ challenges to the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone.

The Baptist Press reports that the DOJ asked a Texas federal district court on March 13 to either stay or dismiss Florida and Texas challenges to mifepristone, arguing that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing the drug’s safety.

 The latest filing by the DOJ comes on the heels of the administration’s active attempts to stay or dismiss similar challenges to mifepristone in Louisiana, Missouri, Idaho and Kansas.

In it’s March 13 filing, the DOJ said, “Given this widespread debate over the safety of mifepristone, FDA has concluded that the best path forward is for the agency to undertake a new review based on the evidence before the agency. At this time, FDA continues to work on the collection of the robust and timely data that is necessary for a well-controlled study with adequate statistical power.”

According to the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Commission (ERLC), the federal government should allow the state action to proceed.

Katy Roberts, ERLC senior policy manager criticized what she called the administration’s move to counter efforts to protect mothers and uphold the sanctity of life.

Roberts said, “The DOJ should allow these lawsuits to progress even while the FDA’s safety review is outstanding. Unfortunately, even though an abundance of clear safety data already abounds, the FDA has yet to complete the so-called ‘necessary’ safety review it promised to complete within the year. Whether due to bureaucratic inefficiency or some other reason, staying or dismissing the lawsuit are not conscionable options.”

“We urge the Trump administration to not turn a blind eye to the precious lives at stake and to allow efforts to protect life to proceed through the courts instead of blocking them,” Roberts continued. 

According to the Baptist Press, the Justice Department has argued in its court filing that the states “suffer no sovereign injury” because they are still free to enforce pro-life policies, and that the states are not prevented from enforcing abortion laws against out-of-state prescribers of mifepristone.

The DOJ has also argued that granting a stay would not inconvenience the states, saying that, since states have already “waited 25 years to challenge the approval of mifepristone, nearly 10 years to challenge FDA’s 2016 action, seven years to challenge approval of the first generic equivalent, and nearly three years to challenge the elimination of the in-person dispensing requirement.”

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