Texas Mifepristone Ruling Threatens Abortion Access in States Where Procedure is Legal, AGs

CNBC, Spencer Kimball 5 days ago

Attorneys general for nearly half of U.S. states in a new court filing warn that a federal judge's decision to suspend the Food and Drug Administration's 23-year-old approval of mifepristone across the country "presents devastating risks to millions of people," including those in states where abortion remains legal.

The attorneys general in their filing Monday called on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to keep mifepristone on the market as litigation over the legality of the abortion pill plays out.

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court in Amarillo, Texas, on Friday effectively revoked the FDA approval of mifepristone.

But he put his decision on hold for one week to give the Biden administration time to appeal.

Kacsmaryk's ruling will take effect at 12 a.m. CT on Saturday if the 5th Circuit does not halt it.

In their filing Monday, the Democratic attorneys general for 23 states and the District of Columbia condemned Kacsmaryk's ruling as "legally erroneous" and warned it would undermine the FDA's approval process.

The attorneys general argued that Kacsmaryk's order would "eviscerate the sovereign decisions" made by the states to protect access to abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision last summer to overturn Roe v. Wade, the case that since 1973 had said there was a federal constitutional right to abortion.

Mifepristone, used in combination with another drug, misoprostol, is the most common method of terminating a pregnancy in the U.S., accounting for about half of all abortions.

The attorneys general cited that fact in their brief.

"Because medication abortion is the most common method used to terminate a pregnancy during the first trimester, curtailing access to this method will result in more abortions taking place later in pregnancy, further increasing costs and medical risks," the attorneys general wrote.

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