Court appears poised keep blocking abortion rules
Source: Associated Press
Court appears poised keep blocking abortion rules
| May 13, 2014 | Updated: May 13, 2014 5:09pm
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court appeared poised Tuesday to continue blocking the nation's strictest restrictions on the use of abortion drugs, questioning the constitutionality of the Arizona rules a month after putting them on hold.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments from the state and Planned Parenthood Arizona, which sued to stop the rules. The court issued an injunction in April, saying women likely would suffer irreparable harm if the restrictions were allowed to take effect. Arizona argued that the rules aim to safeguard women and follow Food and Drug Administration guidelines.
The regulations ban women from taking the most common abortion-inducing drug — RU-486 — after the seventh week of pregnancy. Women had been allowed to take the abortion pill through nine weeks of pregnancy.
The rules also require that the drug be administered only at the FDA-approved dosage and that both doses be taken at a clinic. The usual dosage is lower and now usually taken at home, decreasing the cost and chance of complications.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/science/article/Court-appears-poised-keep-blocking-abortion-rules-5473040.php