A federal judge in Texas ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone on Friday.
Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk signed a court order directing the FDA to halt approval of mifepristone as a lawsuit challenging its safety and approval works its way through the courts.
Kacsmaryk blocked FDA approval of the abortion drug, but gives the federal government seven days to “seek emergency relief from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.”
While the federal judge is blocking the FDA’s approval of the drug, prosecutors, several conservative groups, wanted the approval of chemical abortion drugs suspended and removed from the list of approved drugs.
DEMOCRAT AGS Sues FDA For Limiting Abortion Drugs, Claims It’s ‘SAFER’ THAN VIAGRA
The Biden administration is urging a district judge to rule in favor of federal approval for an abortion drug, mifepristone, in the name of the “public interest.” (Reuters/Caitlin Ochs/Illustration)
Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice has issued a contradictory preliminary injunction preventing the FDA from “changing” the current availability of mifepristone Friday in certain Democratic states that have sued the FDA, including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan , Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington State.
Rice made the order after attorneys general in 12 Democratic-led states sued the government agency in February, challenging its restrictions on distribution of the abortion pill. The attorneys general argue that the restrictions are not supported by evidence.
The lawsuit filed by the states says mifepristone is “safer than many other commonly used drugs regulated by the FDA, such as Viagra and Tylenol.”
In response to Kacsmaryk’s decision, Attorney General Marrick Garland said the Justice Department will appeal.
“The Department of Justice strongly disagrees with the decision of the District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA and will appeal the court decision and seek a stay pending appeal “Today’s decision overturns the FDA’s judgment handed down more than two decades ago that mifepristone was safe and effective. The Department will continue to defend the FDA’s decision,” Garland said.
FDA ALLOWS SOME RETAIL PHARMACIES TO PROVIDE ABORTION PILLS
Boxes of the drug mifepristone stand on a shelf at the West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on March 16, 2022. The pill is used to terminate pregnancies. (AP Photo/Allen G. Ras, File)
Doctors and pharmacies who prescribe and dispense the pill now need to get special certification.
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Doses of Mifepristone, the abortion pill, and Misoprostol, which is taken the day after to cause cramping and bleeding to empty the uterus, are pictured in the Dr. Franz Theards Women’s Reproductive Clinic in Santa Teresa, New Mexico on May 7, 2022. (Paul Ratje/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The FDA places special restrictions on mifepristone under a safety program designed to minimize the risk of drugs that could be dangerous, but has relaxed restrictions on the drug several times.
In January, the FDA allowed certified pharmacies to distribute the abortion pill mifepristone.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Adam Sabes is a writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @asabes10.
