Lankford, Cassidy, Smith Lead Amicus Brief to Protect Women and Babies from Dangerous Abortion Drugs, Restore Safeguards
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — US Senators James Lankford (R-OK), co-chair of the Senate Values Action Team and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, along with US Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ-4) led 57 Republican lawmakers in filing an amicus brief in the US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana supporting Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s lawsuit to protect women and their unborn children from dangerous chemical abortion drugs. The brief argues Mifepristone’s in-person dispensing requirement must be reinstated.
“I have always defended both the dignity of life and the safety of women,” said Lankford. “The Biden administration stripped away commonsense safeguards, ignored federal law, and created a system that facilitates coercion and medical malpractice. Congress writes the law, not unelected bureaucrats. The FDA cannot rewrite federal statutes to advance a political agenda, especially when doing so endangers women and girls and violates longstanding protections in federal law.”
Background
In October 2025, Louisiana Attorney General Murrill filed a lawsuit on behalf of the State of Louisiana and Rosalie Markezich, a victim of Democrats’ harmful decision to remove the in-person dispensing requirement for dangerous chemical abortion drugs. Because of Biden’s policy, Rosalie’s boyfriend was able to order chemical abortion pills online from an abortionist in California and coerced her to take the drug to kill her unborn child.
The Republican lawmakers argue that the Biden administration violated federal law by removing the in-person dispensing requirement, and that these protections should be reinstated. Additionally, the amicus brief supports Attorney General Murrill’s motion for preliminary relief, asking for a preliminary injunction ordering the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to suspend or withdraw the 2023 Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) while the case proceeds.
The brief is also supported by US Senators Jim Banks (R-IN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ted Budd (R-NC), John Cornyn (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), John Kennedy (R-LA), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Rand Paul (R-KY), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).
You can read the full amicus brief HERE.
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