White House Prepares for Legal and Political Battle on Abortion Pill

Meryl Kornfield, Rachel Roubein and Laurie McGinley
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The Washington Post
April 12, 2023
WASHINGTON - The Biden administration, seeking to reassure abortion rights activists without provoking the courts, is privately promising an array of liberal groups that it will wage a fierce legal battle to preserve access to abortion medication, while also developing contingency plans in case those efforts fall short.

Since a Texas judge ruled on Friday to suspend approval of mifepristone, a pill that can help end a pregnancy, Biden officials have held numerous calls with abortion rights groups, according to three people familiar with the calls, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions. That effort to reassure activists comes as some liberal lawmakers are urging the administration to effectively ignore U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk's ruling, which the White House says it will not do.

At the same time, federal health officials, long worried about the potential for such a ruling from Kacsmaryk, have been developing contingency plans for months, according to a former Food and Drug Administration employee who was in touch with agency officials.

"It's a shock when you see [the ruling], but they knew this might happen," said the former staffer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal agency discussions. The staffer added that while the agency's plans are not clear, the FDA has several options it can consider to try to make mifepristone accessible even if court decisions go against the government.

One possibility is that Danco Laboratories, the manufacturer of Mifeprex, the brand-name version of mifepristone, could file a new application to have the drug approved under the standard process, the ex-staffer said. That would be time-consuming, however, and Jessica Ellsworth, counsel for Danco Laboratories, told reporters the company will seek guidance from the FDA if Kacsmaryk's injunction stands.

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