WEDNESDAY, July 16, 2025 (HealthDay News) — A federal appeals court has ruled that West Virginia can limit access to mifepristone, a medication used to end early pregnancies. The decision is the first of its kind and could affect how other states handle access to drugs that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, affirmed a ruling by a U.S. district judge in 2023 despite federal regulators' approval of the abortion pill as a safe and effective medication.

The court upheld West Virginia’s 2022 law banning mifepristone for abortions in most cases. A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday allowed West Virginia to restrict access to mifepristone, the pill used to end pregnancies that has emerged as a focal point of legal battles over abortion.