Rejecting HHS's Smurfing Strategy, Texas District Court Allows Challenge to Post-Dobbs Pharmacy Guidance to Proceed | Practical Law
In a decision that sharply criticizes the administrative agency practice of "smurfing," a Texas district court has allowed a challenge to post-Dobbs guidance issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to proceed. Issued shortly after the Dobbs ruling, HHS's guidance addressed how retail pharmacies could avoid violating sex and disability discrimination standards under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act in dispensing abortion medications.