Mifepristone: Joe Biden fights judge’s decision to halt approval of major abortion pill | US news

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US approval of the abortion drug mifepristone has been revoked, in a decision that could further disrupt reproductive health care for millions of people.

District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmarek, a Trump administration appointee in Amarillo, Texas, signed an injunction directing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to withhold its approval while a lawsuit challenging its safety continues.

He has sided in part with a conservative Christian group, the Freedom Defending Alliance, which has filed a lawsuit alleging the drug was not properly regulated.

He didn’t go as far as the plaintiffs wanted, but he stopped or stopped approval of the drug.

The judge’s decision did not take effect for seven days. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice announced that it would appeal the ruling.

President Joe Biden said in a statement that “my administration will fight this ruling…

“Let’s be clear – the only way to stop those committed to taking away women’s rights and freedoms in every state is to elect a Congress that will pass a law reinstating Roe v. Wade.

“Vice President Harris and I will continue to lead the fight to protect a woman’s right to have an abortion and to make her own decisions about her health.”

Mifepristone blocks a hormone needed to maintain pregnancy and has been approved in the United States since 2000 for medical abortion and abortion management.

It is used safely in more than 60 countries around the world and when taken with the drug misoprostol, it accounts for more than half of all abortions in America.

Some abortion providers have said they will wait for FDA guidance before implementing the ban on mifepristone.

In a separate Washington state ruling Friday night, a judge said the Food and Drug Administration must keep medical abortion drugs available in at least 12 liberal states, creating a legal showdown over the drug, which is likely to escalate to the Supreme Court.

Ironic question that the drug is safer than ibuprofen

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says the Texas lawsuit ignores “decades of data” supporting the effectiveness of mifepristone, and is “exacerbating the current crisis of abortion care in the United States.”

Michigan abortion provider Dr Raziel Remin told Sky News: “Mifepristone is literally one of the safest drugs on the market – safer than ibuprofen, safer than Tylenol.

“People are more likely to have an adverse event experienced by them driving, or going through childbirth… The fact that it’s even questionable is absolutely ridiculous.”

Angel, 24, who lives in Texas, had an abortion using the drug in February.

Already a mother of three, she decided to terminate her last pregnancy because she did not want any more children.

Angel says the attempt to ban mifepristone is “another attack on women’s right to choose.”

“You can do it at home… It’s convenient, it’s easy, it’s safe… I just don’t understand how something can be right for so many years. And then one day, all of a sudden, it’s wrong.”

The pill has become the new frontier in the battle for abortion access since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade — the constitutional right to abortion — last June.

Many people trying to access abortion in heavily restricted states order birth control pills in the mail, or travel across state lines to pick them up.

Since abortion clinics were already closed in Texas, Angel had to obtain the pills through underground routes.

“It is almost impossible to have an abortion here,” she said. “You can’t go to the pharmacy. You can’t go to Planned Parenthood. There are no clinics…nothing…if you find it, it’s a blessing.”

Read more: Can abortion really be banned in the UK, and what has changed since Roe v Wade was overturned?

“gross injustice”

Now, with access to mifepristone in jeopardy, choice advocates fear that getting an abortion in America is becoming more and more difficult to navigate.

“What is clear is that we need all forms of abortion in this country, and we want all of them to be legal,” says Elisa Wells, co-founder of Plan C.

Her organization provides information and support to women seeking access to abortion in every state.

“This injustice is being done by manipulating the court system to try to ban this drug… It is truly outrageous,” Ms Wells said.

“We are a modern democracy, and we need access to basic medical care in every part of our country, legally and without restrictions – and that includes abortion.”

There are alternatives to mifepristone for those still trying to access a medical abortion.

Some doctors have anticipated the verdict, and plan to switch to the misoprostol-only option. They say this method is still safe, but it has the potential for more side effects and increased discomfort.

This decision marks yet another contentious legal battle over abortion access in America, one that will likely end again in the Supreme Court.

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