U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and U.S. Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) have led 58 Republican lawmakers in submitting an amicus brief to the U.S. Western District of Louisiana. The brief supports Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s lawsuit seeking to reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone, a chemical abortion drug.
“I thank Attorney General Murrill for defending women and babies in Louisiana and across the country. Chemical abortion drugs kill innocent children and put mothers’ lives at risk,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Safeguards protecting against coercion, such as the in-person dispensing requirement, must be reinstated immediately.”
Representative Smith added: “A historic report released by the Ethics and Public Policy Center found that more than one out of ten (10.93%) women who take the chemical abortion drug mifepristone experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse event within 45 days. Yet, under ‘Abortion President’ Joe Biden, mifepristone—the baby poison pill—was recklessly promoted as a mail-order drug, aiming to kill unborn children and putting women at grave risk. It is well past time that we stand up to protect women and children from the dangers of mifepristone and put this highly dangerous chemical drug out of reach, once and for all.”
The lawsuit was filed by Attorney General Murrill on behalf of Louisiana and Rosalie Markezich in October 2025 after federal policy changes removed requirements for in-person dispensing of certain abortion drugs. According to details cited by lawmakers supporting the brief, these changes allowed Markezich’s boyfriend to order pills online from California without her consent.
The group contends that removing these protections violated federal law and requests that they be restored while legal proceedings continue. The amicus brief also asks for preliminary relief through an injunction directing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to suspend or withdraw its 2023 Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy related to these drugs.
Senator Cassidy previously led a hearing with Attorney General Murrill about chemical abortion drugs' risks earlier this year as part of his role as HELP Committee chairman—a committee which legislates on public health issues such as those overseen by agencies like the FDA (official website). The HELP Committee plays a central role in shaping federal regulations on health matters throughout the United States (official website).
Cassidy is also leading calls among conservative Republicans urging Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., along with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, to complete a promised safety review regarding abortion drugs.
Other senators supporting this effort include 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), James Lankford (R-OK), 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).
The full text of the amicus brief is available online.
For more information about activities from HELP Republicans or updates on their initiatives regarding public health policy—which includes oversight responsibilities over agencies like FDA—visit their website or Twitter account @GOPHELP.
