Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum on Friday announced a federal lawsuit against the U. S. Food and Drug Administration over what she other attorneys general say are excessively burdensome regulations on a drug commonly used in medication abortions. The suit asserts the FDA exceeded its authority and violated the constitutional principle of equal protection for people to acquire a drug called mifepristone, one of a two-medication regimen used to terminate early term pregnancies. The timing of the suit comes as . A ruling there in favor of abortion opponents could immediately according to The Associated Press, but women would still have access to medicated abortions with a regimen of a different drug, misoprostol. The newest lawsuit, led by Rosenblum and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and joined by 10 other attorneys general in Democratic-leaning states, was filed in the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. About 60% of abortions in Oregon in 2021 were medically administered. “In this time when reproductive healthcare is under attack, our coalition of 12 states seeks to ensure that access to mifepristone – the predominant method of safe and effective abortion in the US – is not unduly restricted. Our coalition stands by our belief that abortion is healthcare, and healthcare is a human right,” Rosenblum said in a statement. Rosenblum declined to directly address if the new lawsuit is an attempt to get in front of a potential ruling from Texas limiting access. But Ameet Sarpatwari, a lawyer and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, to file the lawsuit now -- potentially leading to split decisions that could conceivably make the drug available until both cases end up before the U. S. Supreme Court to sort out. Mifepristone is one of 60 substances the FDA regulates under a set of restrictions known as Risk Evaluation & Mitigation Strategies, or REMS. It’s been under those requirements for about a dozen years, although some of the restrictions have become less onerous over time. The REMS classification means health care providers must be certified by the drug distributor in advance of prescribing mifepristone. To receive the prescription, patients and providers must sign an agreement that certifies the patient has decided to end their pregnancy, regardless of its use. A copy of this agreement must be included in the patient’s medical records. Additionally, pharmacies must also be specially certified before they can fill a prescription. The lawsuit argues these restrictions pose an “unduly burdensome, harmful and unnecessary” risk to those who would take or prescribe this medication on the grounds it could expose them to violence, harassment or legal action if they live in a state where the practice is outlawed. The lawsuit notes that mifepristone is associated with fewer side effects and deaths than common medications like Tylenol or Viagra — neither of which are regulated under REMS restrictions. The FDA has attributed no deaths to mifepristone since it was approved for use in 2000. Along with Oregon and Washington, attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont also joined the lawsuit. .