In the United States, President Joe Biden’s administration is going to the Supreme Court in an attempt to ensure access to the abortion pill mifepristone. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday.
A federal appeals court in New Orleans had already ruled on Wednesday evening that mifepristone would remain available for the time being. It did impose some restrictions: the pill can only be used in the first seven weeks of a pregnancy, instead of ten weeks. In addition, only a doctor may dispense mifepristone, which means that the drug can no longer be sent by post.
The decision follows an appeal by the government to temporarily suspend the execution of the judgment of a lower federal court. On Friday, Texan judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, appointed by former President Donald Trump, suspended the authorization that the drug watchdog FDA already gave to mifepristone in 2000. In a case brought by opponents of abortion, he ruled against the scientific consensus that the health risks had not been sufficiently taken into account. The suspension would take effect at the end of this week.
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The Justice Department said on Thursday it will seek urgent intervention from the Supreme Court to clarify the case. That is dominated by conservatives after Trump appointments. In June, the agency overturned constitutional protections for abortion, which has since banned termination of pregnancy in several states.
Almost at the same time as the Texas verdict, a federal judge in Washington issued another ruling to the contrary on Friday. Thomas Rice argued that mifepristone is “safe and effective” and that access to the pill should be ensured in 17 states involved in the case.
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