Civil Liberties

Federal judge transfers abortion pill lawsuit to Missouri, citing lack of Texas ties

By Diana Novak Jones
October 1, 20256:41 PM EDT • Updated October 1, 2025

Summary
• Texas judge sent case to Missouri over standing issues
• Transfer keeps case alive in new court

CHICAGO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - A Texas federal judge transferred a lawsuit seeking to restrict the availability of abortion pill mifepristone to a court in Missouri rather than ending it outright after finding that it no longer had enough ties to Texas to continue there.

In a ruling late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk agreed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that Missouri, Kansas and Idaho, which are leading the lawsuit, can’t pursue their claims in Texas federal court. … But rather than tossing the case altogether, Kacsmaryk, who was appointed by Republican President Donald Trumpduring his first term in office, transferred the case to the federal court in St. Louis.

The attorneys general of Missouri, Kansas and Idaho are arguing that the FDA acted improperly when it eased restrictions on mifepristone, including by allowing it to be prescribed remotely and dispensed by mail.

Emily Wales, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which covers Missouri, said in a statement that Kacsmaryk was sending the case to a district where many of the judges were previously attorneys in the Missouri attorney general's office, which has argued against abortion rights in the state. … U.S. District Judge Maria Lanahan, who was confirmed last month to the bench in the St. Louis court, worked on the case in her former role as the principal deputy solicitor general, as did another recent Trump appointee, U.S. District Judge Josh Divine, Missouri's former solicitor general. … "This case has always been about ideology, not patient safety," Wales said.

{snip}