A federal judge in Texas has suspended the FDA’s approval of the widely-used abortion pill mifepristone. But a conflicting ruling, and the White House’s promise to appeal the decision, is complicating the drug’s future.
A federal judge out of Texas ruled Friday that the FDA ignored its own rules to approve the chemical abortion pill mifepristone without sufficient testing. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee who received death threats and harassment leading up to his decision, sided with the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and other pro-life groups in his ruling to suspend FDA approval of the controversial drug.
However... An hour later, a federal judge out of Washington, Judge Thomas Owen Rice, an Obama appointee, issued a separate ruling blocking the FDA from removing its approval of mifepristone in 17 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C.
As of yesterday, mifepristone is still available. Judge Kacsmaryk stayed his order for one week to allow the FDA time to seek intervention from an appeals court.
President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris have vowed to appeal the decision, and the Justice Department has already filed a notice to appeal as well.
But... Legal experts believe the matter will ultimately be hashed out in the U.S. Supreme Court. That ruling could come sooner rather than later – the Supreme Court could step in at any time if the DOJ files an appeal in the Fifth Circuit.
Please pray that the Supreme Court again makes a ruling that helps protect the lives of unborn children.
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