“Their claims have no connection to the Northern District of Texas,” the DOJ wrote in its brief, marking the first public stance the Trump administration has taken on the abortion lawsuit.

“Regardless of the merits of the States’ claims, the States cannot proceed in this Court. The States’ Amended Complaint should be dismissed,” lawyers for the Justice Department added. The DOJ also claimed that states were free to file lawsuits in their own districts.

Within 24 hours, conservatives who are vehemently against unfettered abortion access were denouncing the brief.

“This motion is about who has the right to sue, not whether abortion drugs are safe. Real-world data proves common sense: these drugs are dangerous,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

TRUMP DOJ TO DEFEND BIDEN ABORTION PILL RULES

SBA Pro-Life America is one of the leading anti-abortion groups in the nation. During the 2024 campaign, the group vigorously advocated for Trump to pledge to limit federal abortion laws beyond 15 weeks of gestation.

The group has vigorously campaigned against mifepristone, claiming it can result in adverse effects for women to take the pill.

“A growing body of evidence shows the serious harm these drugs pose to women as well as their babies. At a minimum, the Trump administration should reverse the Biden FDA’s reckless nationwide mail-order abortion drug policy,” Dannenfelser continued. “We urge the Trump administration to reinstate basic measures that require real medical oversight. Women and girls deserve better than high-risk drugs with no in-person doctor, no follow-up and no accountability. This isn’t health care, it’s harm.”

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) denounced the DOJ brief as a “serious mistake” on social media Tuesday.

He later told the Washington Examiner he was “baffled” by the decision to defend the FDA.

“I don’t understand why the Department of Justice would do that,” Hawley added. “Our state’s case, is very, very strong on this issue. It’s brought on behalf of women who have suffered adverse effects from mifepristone, and state has to end up paying for much of that, because they go to emergency rooms, which is their only option. And the state’s ask is to put back in place the long-standing safety regulations. So it’s a mystery to me why DOJ is defending the Biden administration position.”

Father Matthew P. Schneider, a Catholic priest, took to social media criticizing Trump for not adhering to anti-abortion orthodoxy.

“President Trump: I’m the most pro life president ever,” Schneider began in a post mocking the administration. “Also President Donald J Trump: I will defend a policy allowing abortion pills to be available by mail & online even when states want to restrict this”

Other prominent anti-abortion groups that have close ties to Trump were noticeably quiet about the DOJ’s actions. The Faith and Freedom Coalition and Students for Life of America did not respond to a Washington Examiner request for comment.

However, the National Right to Life said in a statement that the group was “disappointed in the response from the Department of Justice.”

“We hope that this isn’t a final position and that moving forward there will be a review of any new evidence and data regarding the use of mifepristone,” the group added. “We are living in what amounts to the Wild West. Mifepristone abortions by telehealth and third-party online sites continue through a network of suppliers who are willing to break the few rules that exist. It’s where abortion is available by mail, women are placed in danger, and unborn children die.”

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins claimed the issue was “simple.”

“The Trump administration could resolve this issue immediately if the FDA restored the safety protocols on mifepristone and the DOJ upheld the Comstock law,” Perkins said, referring to an 1873 law banning the mailing of obscene materials. “Protect women’s health and allow states to enforce their pro-life laws.”

President Donald Trump and many prominent members of his administration have long touted their anti-abortion bona fides. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly boasted about appointing three conservative justices to the Supreme Court who helped strike down Roe v. Wade in 2022.

But with abortion now up to each state, the anti-abortion movement has focused on limiting access to abortion pills and defunding Planned Parenthood.

The lawsuit against the FDA sought to curtail the expanded access to mifepristone that came in 2016 after the agency allowed regulatory changes. Notably, the DOJ brief did not comment on the merit of the lawsuit.

Conservatives claimed that allowing the abortion pill to be mailed ignores the will of voters in each state, particularly states that have limited abortion access.

“I saw that the president ran [on] a platform of leaving this issue to the states, and the problem with the Biden administration’s position is it deliberately undermines what states want to do,” Hawley said. “So right now, their rule is, it doesn’t matter what restrictions voters in states like mine or anywhere else adopt on abortion, you can just mail in the chemical abortion drug, which, by the way, counts for like 70% of abortions.”

The Missouri senator on Tuesday also introduced the Restoring Safeguards for Dangerous Abortion Drugs Act to reinstate safety regulations on mifepristone that were removed under the Biden administration and former President Barack Obama’s administrations.

MISSOURI SUED OVER ABORTION LAW REQUIRING MINORS TO HAVE PARENTAL CONSENT

The act allows women harmed by the drug to sue healthcare providers and bans foreign companies from mailing and importing mifepristone into the United States.

Similarly to Hawley, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) told the Washington Examiner she was a “strong” supporter of states’ rights when it comes to abortion policy, including debate around the abortion pill.

“I’d rather see this addressed by the states and not the federal government, this particular issue,” she said. “I don’t want to say whether it’s good or bad. … I think it should be handled by the states.”

Yet plenty of Christian conservative groups remain troubled by the DOJ brief and want to see it reversed.

“This reckless action has threatened women’s health, sending countless women to the emergency room for abortion drug complications,” said Kristen Waggoner, president of the conservative Christian group Alliance Defending Freedom. “The best way to ensure that abortion policy is left to the states is to undo the harms of the Biden FDA’s abortion-by-mail scheme.”