Divided Court Upholds An Ohio Law Restricting Abortion-Inducing Medication

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Ohio’s 2004 law that restricts the use of RU-486, an abortion-inducing medication. The state measure limits the use of the drug to the first seven weeks of pregnancy — criminalizing any use of the drug after that point — and requires doctors to only administer is in the exact dosage approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000. Challengers have argued that the restrictions are unconstitutionally vague, but in the 2–1 decision, the judges affirmed an earlier ruling that the law is reasonable. Judge Karen Nelson Moore, the lone dissenter, wrote that it is an undue burden on women who prefer non-surgical abortions.