US Court Suspends Approval for Abortion Drug in Texas

Washington/Amarillo. In the dispute over the right to abortions in the USA, opponents of abortion have won another stage. A federal judge in the state of Texas issued an injunction suspending approval of the abortion drug mifepristone. However, the decision issued on Friday is only to take effect in seven days in order to give the agency responsible for approving drugs the opportunity to appeal the decision, according to the court order.

US President Joe Biden announced that his government would fight the judge’s verdict. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday his department would appeal.

This heralds a protracted legal battle over the future of the abortion drug, which, according to many observers, could very likely end up before the US Supreme Court. Shortly after the Texas decision, another federal court in Washington State on the West Coast of the United States issued an order largely contrary to that of Texas. 17 states ruled by Democrats and the District of Columbia, the district in which the US capital Washington is located, had sued to maintain access to the drug in their states. The judge appointed by former President Barack Obama in the state of Washington agreed.

women’s health at risk

If the drug were to be withdrawn, abortion advocates say it would have dramatic repercussions on women’s health across the country. President Biden said Friday the Texas court’s decision was another unprecedented move to strip women of basic liberties and put their health at risk.

Medical abortion is becoming more and more important in the United States. According to an analysis by the Guttmacher Institute, which specializes in reproductive health, more than half of all abortions in the USA are now medical.

Mifepristone was approved in the US in 2000 and has traditionally been used in conjunction with the drug misoprostol for abortion. Misoprostol can also be used alone for abortion. The World Health Organization recommends this approach in cases where mifepristone is unavailable. It is unclear how many doctors would actually switch to this method, wrote the Guttmacher Institute. Physicians in the US have less experience with this, epidemiologist Heidi Moseson told Nature magazine.

The current dispute over the availability of mifepristone and the legality of abortion in general reflects the country’s deep political divisions. It is one of the core issues of the conflict that is often referred to in the USA as “Culture Wars”, a clash of cultures between conservative and progressive forces. Above all, the religious right and large parts of the Republican party have been trying for decades to restrict or even abolish this right. The judge in the current case, Matthew Kacsmaryk, was appointed by ex-President Donald Trump and is considered to be strictly conservative and deeply religious. President Biden said Friday the decision in Texas “is the next big step toward the statewide ban on abortion that elected Republican officials have vowed to make law in America.”

Many states outlaw abortions

In June, the Supreme Court, which consists mostly of conservative judges, overturned the country’s abortion law, which had been in effect for almost 50 years. Since then, the states have been able to decide independently on the regulations on abortion. In 13 states, abortions are now completely or with only a few exceptional cases banned. Republicans have a majority in parliament in all of them. Some other states have at least restricted abortion rights. Further bans and restrictions are expected. Many women planning an abortion therefore already have to travel long distances to do so. In states that ban abortion, the ban also extends to the use of abortion pills.

As with many social issues in the USA, skin color also plays an important role in abortions. Black women are three times as likely as white women to die in childbirth, Vice President Kamala Harris said recently. Indigenous women have twice the death rate as whites. The issue also divides society. People regularly demonstrate across the country both for and against abortion.

Regardless of the Texas judge’s ruling, several states are already in the process of banning abortion drugs at the state level. Wyoming has been the first state to pass a law to this effect since mid-March. The law could come into force in July. A general ban on abortion in the state was initially blocked by a court. According to reports in the New York Times, Texas is planning a law that would not only ban abortion drugs, but would also oblige internet providers to make websites of providers of such drugs inaccessible to users.