Drugmaker GenBioPro Sues West Virginia Over Abortion Ban

The company argued that the state's sweeping ban was unconstitutional.

The company argued that the state’s sweeping ban was unconstitutional.

Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year, multiple US states enacted immediate and sweeping bans or restrictions on abortion practices, hampering the ability of doctors to perform the procedure and banning the use of contraceptive medications. The manufacturer of one of those medications has argued that this decision is in violation of the Constitution and sued to undo it.

Medical manufacturer GenBioPro, which creates the abortion medication mifepristone, filed a lawsuit against the West Virginia state government to overturn their abortion ban, claiming that, as their product is FDA-certified, their ability to sell it and the peoples’ ability to use it supersedes state law. This case follows a similar case raised in North Carolina by a doctor who protested the state’s extremely strict requirements for prescribing mifepristone.

In the absence of concrete answers provided by Roe v. Wade, the matter has become extremely complicated. “Abortion law and the status of the legality of abortion flickers on and off,” legal expert Rachel Rebouché told NBC. “One day it’s a constitutional right, the next day there’s a Supreme Court decision, in the weeks after a dozen states rushed to criminalize, those laws are still being interpreted, and on top of it, these conflicts between states and the federal government. We’re just seeing a really dynamic, fast-changing legal landscape.”