Sens. Booker and Smith Seek to Protect Access to Medication Abortions
U.S. Sens. Tina Smith, D-Minn., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., are working to affirm the Food and Drug Administration’s authority over state law for all FDA-approved reproductive health products, such as drugs used for medication abortions.
The senators introduced the Protecting National Access to Reproductive Care Act on Aug. 2.
Under the Constitution’s supremacy clause, states are prohibited from interfering with the federal government’s power to regulate drugs. The bill from Booker and Smith seeks to codify that power and ensure the Department of Justice has the authority to enforce federal laws and regulations.
The bill would also give private individuals or health care providers a way to sue states with laws that ban or restrict access to reproductive health products.
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