Fourth Circuit upholds West Virginia ban on abortion pills

Source: Courthouse News Service

July 15, 2025


(CN) — A Fourth Circuit panel upheld a West Virginia law that bans most abortions, including drug-induced abortions. U.S. Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, a Ronald Reagan appointee, wrote in a 28-page opinion that the federal government’s role in the regulation of medicine does not prevent the Appalachian state from enforcing its own law promoting public health and safety.

GenBioPro, a maker of the generic version of the abortion drug mifepristone, challenged West Virginia’s Unborn Child Protection Act, which bans most abortions, including those that are drug-induced. The drugmaker argues the state law is preempted by the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007, which provides the FDA sole authority to regulate certain medications, including mifepristone.

The three-judge panel appeared hesitant to wade into the controversial waters of abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization effectively eliminated a federal constitutional right to the medical procedure.

“For us to once again federalize the issue of abortion without a clear directive from Congress, right on the heels of Dobbs, would leave us one small step short of defiance,” Wilkinson wrote.

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