Florida is suing Planned Parenthood over the safety of abortion drugs. Here's what to know

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida’s lawyer wide has filed a suit against Planned Parenthood, claiming the enactment is “misrepresenting the safety” of termination pills.

It is the latest ineligible challenge aimed astatine termination pills, which are the astir communal mode to extremity a gestation successful the U.S., and which is progressively a people for opponents of the procedure successful the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 determination overturning Roe v. Wade.

In a ailment filed successful a authorities tribunal successful Santa Rosa County connected Thursday, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier claimed the web of clinics is “making mendacious claims astir the information of termination drugs,” highlighting Planned Parenthood’s statements the pills are “safer than Tylenol.”

Here's what to know.

Florida's suit claims Planned Parenthood is violating a Florida instrumentality against deceptive and unfair commercialized practices and its activities represent “racketeering,” a complaint that was primitively utilized to combat organized crime.

“Planned Parenthood and its Florida operations mislead women astir the captious and undeniable risks of a chemic termination by deceptively claiming these almighty drugs are little risky than mundane symptom medication,” the ailment reads.

The suit seeks estimated damages of $350 cardinal and asks the tribunal to see implementing a suite of sanctions against Planned Parenthood, including requiring the enactment to merchantability disconnected existent estate, barroom it from providing abortions, oregon bid that the enactment beryllium dissolved.

In a statement, Planned Parenthood officials described the suit arsenic a “politically motivated attack” aimed astatine further eroding entree to termination successful Florida, which bans astir abortions aft six weeks of pregnancy, earlier galore women adjacent cognize they are pregnant.

“Anti-abortion lawmakers and officials are relentless successful their effort to extremity entree to each termination care, and to halt patients from getting close aesculapian information. We volition proceed to beryllium conscionable arsenic relentless successful our effort to support entree to this safe, effectual care," Susan Baker Manning, wide counsel for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America said successful a statement, adding: "See you successful court.”

The lawyer wide of Missouri filed a akin suit against Planned Parenthood successful July. The adjacent proceeding successful that lawsuit is acceptable for February.

Caroline Mala Corbin, a prof who teaches law instrumentality astatine the University of Miami School of Law, said it is not astonishing Florida is looking for caller ways to restrict entree to what has go the preferred mode to extremity a gestation successful the U.S.

"If this 1 succeeds, it whitethorn go a exemplary for different states. And if it fails, nary uncertainty they’ll travel up with thing else," Corbin said.

Opponents of termination are progressively focusing connected restricting entree to pills, which by the clip the Supreme Court overturned Roe accounted for implicit fractional of each abortions, typically utilizing a operation of the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol.

The pills are present utilized successful nearly two-thirds of the abortions provided crossed the state and are prescribed via telehealth to patients successful states with bans by doctors successful states with laws that question to support them from ineligible scrutiny for providing specified interstate care.

The Supreme Court determination opened the doorway for states to prohibition abortion, with Republican-controlled states moving to restrict entree and punish people who assistance abortions, portion Democrat-controlled states passed shield laws to support aesculapian providers.

Now, with Texas and 11 different states enforcing bans connected termination astatine each stages of pregnancy, and 4 much that barroom astir of them aft the archetypal six weeks oregon truthful of gestation, the pills person go an adjacent much indispensable mode termination is provided successful the U.S. — adjacent successful states that prohibition the procedure.

Last year, the Supreme Court unanimously preserved entree to a mifepristone, ruling that termination opponents lacked the ineligible close to writer implicit the national Food and Drug Administration’s support of the medication.

Republican attorneys wide are renewing the ineligible push, aft the precocious tribunal sent the lawsuit backmost down to a little tribunal successful Texas. The attorneys wide are contending that mifepristone is excessively risky to beryllium prescribed via telehealth and that the FDA should rotation backmost approvals and tighten access.

Studies person found mifepristone and misoprostol are mostly harmless and effect successful completed abortions much than 97% of the time.

Medical organizations supporting mifepristone’s availability accidental the drug’s information compares to “ibuprofen, which much than 30 cardinal Americans instrumentality successful immoderate fixed day.”

Since 2000, astir 6 cardinal patients person taken mifepristone, according to the FDA. A 2021 reappraisal of bureau records looking for deaths that were apt related to the cause identified 13, oregon .00027% of patients.

In an informational leafage connected Planned Parenthood's website, the enactment compares termination drugs to different communal medications.

“Medication termination is precise safe. In fact, it’s safer than galore different medicines similar penicillin, Tylenol, and Viagra. Serious problems are rare, but similar each medicines, determination tin beryllium risks,” the connection reads.

___ Kate Payne is simply a corps subordinate for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is simply a nonprofit nationalist work programme that places journalists successful section newsrooms to study connected undercovered issues.