The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Friday, seeking transparency around its recent decision to review the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone.
The group filed the complaint against the Health and Human Services Department and the Food and Drug Administration, alleging that the Trump administration is withholding information about the FDA’s announcement that it will reevaluate mifepristone. CRR said the two agencies failed to respond to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act, a law that mandates that federal agencies release requested records to members of the public.
The reproductive rights group is suing the administration for information, including about the FDA’s process of reviewing the abortion pill and what data the agency used to decide to reevaluate a drug that has been widely and safely used for 25 years. CRR also sued for information around “the influence HHS or other parties have in the FDA’s review,” according to the complaint.
FDA Commissioner Martin Makary announced in June that the agency plans to review mifepristone, a decision that appears to be largely based on a junk science report published in April that concluded that nearly 11% of women “experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion.”
