What’s Going On With the Abortion Pill Rulings by Federal Judges?

Legal experts said Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling appeared to be the first time that a court had acted to order that an approved drug be removed from the market over the objection of the F.D.A. If it stands, they said, it could have repercussions for the federal government’s authority to regulate other types of drugs.

The ruling by Judge Thomas O. Rice of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, an Obama appointee, orders the F.D.A. to maintain the status quo and blocks it from restricting the availability of mifepristone in the states that filed the lawsuit before that court. That lawsuit, filed by Democratic attorneys general, challenged restrictions the F.D.A. still imposes on the prescribing and dispensing of mifepristone.

What does this mean for the availability of abortion pills?

For now, mifepristone, the first pill in the two-drug medication abortion regimen that is used in over half of pregnancy terminations in the United States, is still available. Judge Kacsmaryk immediately stayed his ruling for seven days to give the Department of Justice, which represents the F.D.A., a chance to appeal it to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Justice Department has already filed notice of its appeal.

If the appeals court upholds the judge’s order or declines to put it on pause until the full case is heard, the Justice Department will most likely appeal that decision to the Supreme Court, which could quickly decide whether or not to suspend the injunction. The Supreme Court would also take into account the contradictory ruling by the federal judge in the Washington district court case, legal experts said.

Even if the Texas ruling is upheld, several scenarios would allow mifepristone to remain available in the United States, at least for the time being. And if the drug does eventually become unavailable in the United States, patients would probably still be able to get it from overseas. Read on for details.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/08/health/mifepristone-abortion-pills-ruling-judges.html