Georgia’s Heartbeat Abortion Ban Tests FDA Limits on Pill Access

Georgia’s revived abortion law puts a new strain on people turning to medication to end pregnancies and adds to an ongoing battle over the boundaries between states and the federal government.

The Eleventh Circuit’s decision to let Georgia ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected creates a thorny situation for people relying on mifepristone—a drug long ago approved by the Food and Drug Administration to terminate pregnancies up to 10 weeks. Many Georgians are now effectively blocked from using the drug after the sixth week of pregnancy, even though that time frame is allowed under FDA regulation, attorneys say. ...