A federal judge in Texas on Friday issued a ruling to end the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of a popular abortion drug. The pro-abortion crowd is not happy about the ruling. There are indications that this battle might just make it to the Supreme Court before it is settled.
This development comes almost a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and returned the power to make decisions regarding abortion policy to the states. It is one of several conflicts being fought on that particular front.
Politico reported:
A Texas federal judge ruled Friday evening to suspend the FDA’s approval of mifepristone — one of two drugs used together to cause an abortion — virtually banning the sale of the pills across the country. The decision, however, will not take effect for a week, giving higher courts time to consider the appeal the Biden administration filed Friday night and delaying for now the impact on hundreds of thousands of patients who use the medication both for abortions and treating miscarriages.
U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled in favor of pro-life medical groups challenging the FDA’s approval of the drug. He ruled that “both the initial approval of the pills in 2000 as well as more recent FDA decisions allowing them to be prescribed via telemedicine, sent by mail and dispensed at retail pharmacies, are unlawful,” according to the report.
In another interesting development, a federal judge in Washington State handed down a contradictory order on Friday preventing the FDA from prohibiting access to the drug in the “dozen blue states that brought the lawsuit,” Politico reported.
Democratic politicians railed against the Texas judge’s decision, and some intimated that it is part of the Republican Party’s effort to outlaw abortion nationwide. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said as much during a press call on Saturday, in which he referred to the ruling as “awful, extreme and unprecedented.”
“Let’s be clear — this is about the Republicans’ goal of a nationwide abortion ban,” he said, according to The Hill.
President Joe Biden also chimed in, saying that “the lawsuit, and this ruling, is another unprecedented step in taking away basic freedoms from women and putting their health at risk.”
“It is the next big step toward the national ban on abortion that Republican elected officials have vowed to make law in America,” Biden added, echoing Schumer’s claims.
Mifepristone is a medication used to terminate early pregnancies, typically up to 10 weeks gestation. It is also known as RU-486, the “abortion pill,” or “Mifeprex.” The drug works by blocking the hormone progesterone, which is essential for maintaining pregnancy. Without progesterone, the lining of the uterus breaks down, and the baby dies. Mifepristone is usually taken in combination with another medication called misoprostol, which causes the uterus to contract and expel the contents.
Aside from the pro-life arguments, some argue that mifepristone is not safe and can cause serious complications, such as heavy bleeding, infection, and incomplete abortion, which could lead to further medical intervention or even death. However, medical studies have shown that mifepristone is a safe and effective medication when used under medical supervision and according to the prescribed protocol.
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