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President Joe Biden’s administration on April 10 asked a U.S. appeals court to stop an order that would make an abortion pill unavailable nationwide on Friday.
Making mifepristone, the pill, unavailable would “severely harm women,” Biden administration lawyers told an appeals court in an emergency motion for a stay.
U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, ruled on April 7 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) halt approval of the abortion drug because of signs the agency violated its statutory duty in its evaluation of the drug’s safety. Plaintiffs had also argued that the FDA lacks the authority to clear an abortion drug.
The FDA approved mifepristone in 2002 and has since allowed it to be dispensed by mail. Many women use it and similar drugs to terminate pregnancies, according to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute.
Kacsmaryk’s order temporarily set aside the FDA approval and would have already made the drug unavailable but he said it would not take effect for seven days, giving the government time to lodge an appeal.
Government lawyers quickly filed a notice of appeal and on Monday, followed with the emergency request for a stay before the order takes effect.
Not doing so would “thwart FDA’s scientific judgment and severely harm women, particularly those for whom mifepristone is a medical or practical necessity,” the lawyers said. “This harm would be felt throughout the country, given that mifepristone has lawful uses in every State. The order would undermine healthcare systems and the reliance interests of businesses and medical providers.
