Update 4/13/2023 at 8:30 A.M.: A three-judge panel for the Fifth Circuit partly overruled a Texas judge who tried to suspend the FDA's approval of mifepristone, the pill used to medication abortions, according to the New York Times. The court said that the F.D.A.'s approval of the drug can stand but the “appellate court said that it was not too late for the plaintiffs to challenge a set of steps the F.D.A. took beginning in 2016 that lifted restrictions and made it easier for more patients to have access to the pill.”
Access to medication to abortion nationwide is up in the air as two federal judges issued opposing rulings on Friday.
In Texas, a judge who was appointed by Donald Trump and has a history of anti-choice views suspended the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, a drug used to end pregnancy before 10 weeks of gestation. The FDA’s approval occurred in 2000 and according to NPR, “most major medical groups say mifepristone, which is also used in miscarriage management, has a well-established safety record.” The judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, ruled the change wouldn’t go into effect for seven days, allowing for appeals.
Olivia Julianna, a 20-year-old pro-choice activist from Texas, told Teen Vogue the ruling was “gut-wrenching but we know it will be appealed … The fight for abortion access is far from over and we will continue fighting until rights are restored.”
The National Organization for Women called the ruling “another grim curtain on the bodily autonomy and reproductive health care rights of women” and President Biden took to Twitter to express his concerns for the decision and its ripple effects. “If [the ruling] stands, it’d prevent women across the country from accessing the medication,” Biden tweeted. “What’s more – the court in this case has substituted its judgment for FDA, the expert agency that approves drugs. That means if this ruling were to stand, there would be virtually no prescription approved by the FDA safe from this kind of attack.”
Within hours, a ruling arrived from a judge in Washington state, ordering “U.S. authorities not to make any changes that would restrict access to the abortion medication mifepristone”, AP reports. The ruling would only apply to the 17 Democratic-led states who are suing over the issue and the conflicting rulings issued by judges have created uncertainty for healthcare workers and patients. Amanda Allen of The Lawyering Project told NPR that the conflicting rulings and ensuing confusion mean the Supreme Court will likely have to weigh in on the issue.
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