State of Texas and Mayo Pharmacy v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The Biden administration issued a mandate requiring pharmacies that serve patients with Medicare, Medicaid, or other federally funded coverage to stock and dispense elective abortion drugs. The Biden administration threatens legal action against any pharmacy or pharmacist that does not comply, even if doing so violates their religious beliefs, as is the case of Mayo Pharmacy and its owner, Dr. Kevin Martian.

Case Timeline

• January 2026: The HHS, under the Trump administration, rescinded the unclear guidance on whether pharmacists are required to keep harmful abortion drugs in stock and dispense them.
• July 2022: The Biden administration issued a mandate attempting to force pharmacies nationwide to dispense chemical abortion drugs.
• February 2023: ADF attorneys filed an amended complaint adding Mayo Pharmacy to a lawsuit Texas had filed against the Biden administration’s pharmacy abortion mandate.
• July 2023: The court denied the Biden administration’s motion to dismiss, ruling that the pharmacy abortion mandate is subject to judicial review and Texas and Mayo Pharmacy can litigate their Administrative Procedure Act claims.
• September 2023: After the court’s ruling, the HHS partially removed its pharmacy abortion guidance in response to pressure from Kevin’s case.
• January 2024: ADF attorneys presented oral arguments at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Midland-Odessa Division.
• April 2024: A federal district court dismissed the case as moot, affirming that HHS’s new guidance doesn’t require pharmacies to dispense abortion drugs or violate their religious beliefs.