Good Friday meant that Texas Federal Judge Andrew Kacsmaryk has delivered his long-awaited idiotic ruling putting abortion medication mifepristone under a nationwide injunction, only there's...also another decision out today that contradicts it from Washing state Federal Judge Thomas Rice.
A federal judge in Texas blocked U.S. government approval of a key abortion medication Friday, siding with abortion foes in an unprecedented lawsuit and potentially upending nationwide access to the pill widely used to terminate pregnancies.
In a competing opinion late Friday, a federal judge in Washington state ruled in a separate case involving mifepristone that the drug is safe and effective. U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice ordered the Food and Drug Administration to preserve “the status quo” and retain access in the 17 states — along with D.C. — that are behind the lawsuit seeking to protect medication abortion.
It seems inevitable the issue will move to the Supreme Court, and the dueling opinions and appeals could make that sooner rather than later.
The highly anticipated ruling from Texas puts on hold the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, a medication first cleared for use in the United States in 2000. It was the first time a court ordered the FDA to remove a medication from the market despite opposition from the agency and the drug’s manufacturer. The ruling will not go into effect for seven days to give the government time to appeal.
U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, a nominee of President Donald Trump with long-held antiabortion views, agreed with the conservative groups seeking to reverse the FDA’s approval of mifepristone as safe and effective, including in states where abortion rights are protected.
“The Court does not second-guess FDA’s decision-making lightly,” Kacsmaryk wrote in the 67-page opinion. “But here, FDA acquiesced on its legitimate safety concerns — in violation of its statutory duty — based on plainly unsound reasoning and studies that did not support its conclusions.” He added that the agency had faced “significant political pressure” to “increase ‘access’ to chemical abortion.”
Biden administration officials said they were reviewing both decisions Friday to determine next steps. The pair of lawsuits followed the Supreme Court’s elimination of the constitutional right to abortion last June, which allowed states to outlaw or sharply restrict the procedure.
The dueling and complicated rulings would put pressure on the FDA and the Biden administration on how to enforce the new mandates set by these rulings.
Medication-induced abortion — the most common method of abortion in the United States — has become increasingly contentious since the high court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The diametrically opposed decisions absolutely require SCOTUS to step in, so we'll see very soon if they're willing to outlaw a drug that's been safe for 23 years. Judge Kacsmaryk has delayed his ruling for seven days in order for appeals to be filed, and I would have to believe that the Justice Department is going to directly ask SCOTUS to stay that order until that case can reach the Roberts Court.
Having said that, this means there's a very good chance SCOTUS will be deciding this one before the 2024 elections and if you thought Republicans were freaking out about the voter backlash over abortion rights before...well, things just got considerably worse for the GOP, as it should.
It's been a week, hasn't it?
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