The US Department of Justice on Monday asked the federal appeals court to suspend a judge’s decision that could make the abortion pill unavailable nationwide by the end of the week.
A real legal battle has opened in the United States, between defenders and opponents of the abortion pill. On Monday, the US Department of Justice petitioned the federal appeals court to ask it to block the decision of Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who last week ordered the suspension of the approval of the abortion pill by Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the drug regulatory authority in the United States.
The US government is therefore asking for an administrative stay. “The extraordinary and unprecedented judgment” of a federal court located in Texas must “be blocked pending the substantive review of the case,” said the department in its appeal. If the Department of Justice does not obtain this stay from the federal appeals court, it is expected to file an appeal with the Supreme Court, according to CNN. President Joe Biden has denounced the suspension as an attack on women’s rights.
Last November, a coalition of abortion opponents sued the FDA to challenge the marketing authorization for mifepristone, a drug used for the voluntary termination of pregnancy. These opponents had initiated this legal proceeding in Amarillo, Texas, knowing that it would be examined by Matthew Kacsmaryk, the only federal judge in the area, known for his ultra-conservative positions.
Two contradictory court decisions
Despite the scientific consensus around mifepristone, which has been used by more than five million American women, and with “extremely rare” side effects, Judge Kacsmaryk last Friday ordered the suspension of its marketing by the FDA . Both the health authority and Danco, the drug’s maker, have appealed the decision.
Judge Kacsmaryk’s order, however, contradicts another court decision issued an hour earlier. Indeed, shortly before the decision to suspend the abortion pill, a coalition of 17 Democratic states had also taken legal action to guarantee access to this drug. Judge Thomas Rice, appointed by Barack Obama and sitting in Washington State, found that mifepristone was “safe and effective” and prohibited the FDA from withdrawing its approval in the 17 states at the origin of the appeal.
The federal government therefore sent a “request for clarification” to Judge Rice on Monday, to find out how to apply this decision when Matthew Kacsmaryk had suspended the authorization of the abortion pill throughout the territory.
