Judge Halts Tighter Abortion Pill Rules In 17 States As Fight Heads To Supreme Court
A federal judge in Washington state ordered the FDA to maintain access to mifepristone under its current framework for states involved in the legal fight, despite a previous ruling from an appeals court that restricted the terms under which the abortion medication can be used. As conflicting decisions ping pong in the lower courts, the Justice Department says it will appeal to the Supreme Court to restore full access to the drug.
CNBC:
Key Court Ruling Does Not Restrict Abortion Pill Access In 17 States, Federal Judge Says
A U.S. district judge in Washington state on Thursday said access to the abortion pill mifepristone is not affected by a federal appeals court ruling that imposed restrictions on the medication this week. Judge Thomas Rice of the state’s U.S. Eastern District last Friday ordered the Food and Drug Administration to preserve access to mifepristone in 17 states and the District of Columbia which sued to protect the drug in those jurisdictions. Rice reiterated in a court order on Thursday that the FDA cannot roll back access to the drug, despite a decision by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals this week that imposed restrictions on how the medication is dispensed and used by patients. (Kimball, 4/13)
Another Supreme Court battle is coming —
Stat:
Abortion Drug Battle Heads To SCOTUS After Appeals Court Decision
The Justice Department said Thursday that it will take the battle over abortion pill access to the U.S. Supreme Court after an appeals court allowed it to stay on the market with restrictions. (Joseph and Owermohle, 4/13)
NPR:
Justice Department Will Ask The Supreme Court To Restore Full Access To Abortion Pill
"The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the Fifth Circuit's decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA to deny in part our request for a stay pending appeal. We will be seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court to defend the FDA's scientific judgment and protect Americans' access to safe and effective reproductive care," Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote in a statement announcing the Justice Department's action. (Belluck and Liptak, 4/13)
The New York Times:
What Happens Next In The Mifepristone Abortion Drug Case
Even as a federal appeals court said late Wednesday that it would allow the abortion pill mifepristone to remain on the market, it sided with a federal judge in Texas by limiting distribution and access to the drug. The move potentially makes it much harder for many Americans to get the pill, which is part of a two-drug regimen that now accounts for more than half of the abortions in the United States. Here’s what is at stake and what could happen next. (VanSickle, 4/12)
More on the legal fight over abortion pills —
NPR:
Pharma Execs Argue In Favor Of Mifepristone Access
With the future of a commonly used abortion medication on its way to the Supreme Court, the pharmaceutical industry has escalated its warnings: If court orders to limit or undo the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone are allowed to stand, industry executives and law experts say, the effects could reach far beyond abortion. The lawsuit, filed last November by a coalition of anti-abortion groups and doctors, takes aim at nearly every step of the FDA's regulatory process — including its original approval of mifepristone for use up to seven weeks of pregnancy in 2000, along with the agency's later decisions to expand approval to 10 weeks of pregnancy and allow the drug to be dispensed by mail. (Sullivan, 4/14)
KFF Health News:
KFF Health News' 'What The Health?': The Confusing Fate Of The Abortion Pill
The abortion pill mifepristone is now ground zero in the abortion debate. Late Wednesday night, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals said the drug should remain on the market but under restrictions on distribution that were in effect before 2016, which ban prescribing by mail or by telemedicine. The restrictions would make it even more difficult for patients in states where abortion is illegal or widely unavailable. (4/13)
NPR:
Here's What Really Happened During The Abortion Drug's Approval 23 Years Ago
When a federal judge in Texas ruled that the Food and Drug administration shouldn't have approved the abortion pill mifepristone in 2000, he agreed with arguments by plaintiffs who oppose abortion rights in ruling that the agency improperly used a process of accelerated approval that didn't fully assess the drug's risks and benefits. An appeals court stayed the part of the lower court's decision that would have invalidated the FDA approval, but the matter could ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court. (Lupkin, 4/14)
