Mifepristone: What’s next in the battle over abortion pills?

BBC News:

The US Department of Justice has appealed against a Texas judge’s decision to suspend approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.

The Biden administration lawyers said last week’s “misguided” ruling risked women’s health by blocking access to a pill long cleared as safe.

The Texas judge last week halted authorisation of the drug, but gave the government seven days to appeal.

Used in most US abortions, the pill has been allowed for over 20 years.

The battle looks likely to head for the Supreme Court, placing a question mark over access to the drug for millions of women.

The legal showdown could herald the biggest blow to abortion access since the country’s top court last summer ruled there was no nationwide right to terminate a pregnancy.

For now, the pill is still available.

https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.48.0/iframe.htmlMedia caption,

‘Barbaric’ abortion law nearly killed these Texas women

On Monday, the justice department filed an emergency motion, seeking to temporarily block last Friday’s ruling in Amarillo, Texas.

The Biden administration lawyers have asked for a decision by 13 April – one day before the lower court’s decision is set to take effect.

The government said the Texas ruling was “especially unwarranted” because it would subvert the scientific judgement of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which authorises medication in the US.

The government’s motion, if successful, would preserve mifepristone’s approval until an appeal can be heard before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health law at Georgetown University, told the BBC: “This is such a poorly reasoned decision, I would hope that the Fifth Circuit would immediately stay the injunction and ultimately – on merits – strike down the Texas decision.

“But that’s not a certainty. This is probably the most conservative appellate court in America, so it’s possible they will validate the [Texas] decision.”

“If the FDA can’t approve this drug, I’m not sure what the FDA can approve,” Professor Gostin added. “It’s been on the market for over two decades, it’s got an impeccable health and safety record.”