A federal judge in Texas Friday halted the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, effectively delivering an initial blow to abortion rights following the Supreme Court’s dismantling of the constitutional right to abortion.
However, a competing opinion later Friday from a federal judge in Washington state ruled in a separate case involving mifepristone that the drug is safe and effective.
“[The] FDA acquiesced on its legitimate safety concerns — in violation of its statutory duty — based on plainly unsound reasoning and studies that did not support its conclusions,” Kacsmaryk wrote in his67-page opinion, per theWashington Post.
However, later in the day, U.S. District JudgeThomas Riceordered the Food and Drug Administration to preserve “the status quo” and retain access to the drug in the 17 states — along with D.C. — that are behind the lawsuit seeking to protect medical abortion.
Kacsmaryk’s decision puts on hold the FDA’s approval of the medication, which was first cleared for use in the United States in 2000. According to thePost, the ruling marks the first time a court has ordered the FDA to remove a medication from the market despite opposition from the agency and the drug’s manufacturer.
The ruling will not go into effect for seven days to give the government time to appeal, theWashington Postreported.
Biden administration officials said they werereviewingboth decisions, according to theWashington Post. The dual lawsuits followed the Supreme Court’s elimination of the constitutional right to abortion last June, which allowed states to outlaw or sharply restrict the procedure.
“The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the decision of the District Court for the Northern District of Texas inAlliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDAand will be appealing the court’s decision and seeking a stay pending appeal,” the statement reads. “Today’s decision overturns the FDA’s expert judgment, rendered over two decades ago, that mifepristone is safe and effective. The Department will continue to defend the FDA’s decision.”
The Justice Department said it’s reviewing the decision of the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington inWashington et al. v. FDA.
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“The Department is committed to protecting Americans' access to legal reproductive care,” the statement added.
source: people.com
