Though the appeals court preserved access to the pill, it also reverted to earlier usage rules of the drug. Mifepristone can no longer be sent via mail and it’s only available to women up to seven weeks of pregnancy instead of ten weeks.
On Friday, a federal judge in Texas 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 ofRoe v. Wade.
“[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.The judge then stayed his ruling for seven days to allow time for appeals.
Bottles of abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol.Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo
mifepristone.
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In their ruling, perThe Times,the appeals court said too much time had passed since the drug’s initial FDA approval to be challenged. In the opinion, they also noted that the government and drug manufacturers agree that removing a drug from the market that’s been available for decades, could lead to “significant public consequences.”
The panel agreed that the government couldn’t logically say that the more recent changes made “were so critical to the public given that the nation operated — and mifepristone was administered to millions of women” prior to the changes being introduced.
According toThe Washington Post, Kacsmaryk’s 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.
“We are going to continue to fight in the courts, we believe the law is on our side, and we will prevail,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said while addressing reporters on Thursday, viaAP News.
“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 case is expected to go to the Supreme Court.
source: people.com
