One Step in the Right Direction?
On April 7, Texan Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, appointed under President Trump, banned mifepristone* stating that the FDA’s approval, 23 years ago, was a mistake. However, this ban didn’t last for long. An hour after the ruling was made, it caught the attention of the U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice. He blocked Judge Kacsmaryk’s decision which reasserted the FDA’s valid ruling and the safety of the drug.
After Judge Rice reaffirmed the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, the case was brought up to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court announced the safety of the drug and has for now blocked the lower court's decision. It was a very brief discussion among the Justices. However, the way each justice voted has not been revealed; nonetheless, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have made it publicly clear that they do not agree with the ruling made.
President Joe Biden said that he completely agrees with the FDA’s approval of mifepristone from 23 years prior and has stated that he will stop at nothing to continue the fight for access to mifepristone. Now, the case has made its way into the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (date set for May 17th), however, it is more than likely that the case will end up back in the Supreme Court. Right now, mifepristone is still legal to use in many states and is always safe to use to end a pregnancy up to 10 weeks. The result of the past rulings has made it evident that the lower courts and officials are trying all they can to stop abortion access by targeting the most common method of abortion. But this raises the question: who should be making the decision about whether drugs are safe and effective?
*Mifepristone - Mifepristone is used as part of a two-drug regimen to end a pregnancy without surgery.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/21/us/mifepristone-explainer.html
https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/21/politics/supreme-court-abortion-pill-mifepristone/index.html
