US judge bans abortion pill, federal government appeals | Abroad

The verdict is therefore seen as another victory for the conservative movement, which is trying to limit access to abortion in the United States. Texas judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, who is known for being very conservative and for his anti-abortion views, gave the federal government up to a week to appeal his decision.

Immediately after the ruling, the US Department of Justice announced that it would indeed appeal the suspension. “The government strongly disagrees with the decision,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “We will appeal (…) and request a suspension in the meantime,” he added.

In his 67-page verdict, Judge Kacsmaryk accepts most of the arguments of the suit filed in November against the US drug watchdog FDA. Behind the case is a coalition of doctors and anti-abortion organizations. The coalition deliberately brought the case in a Texas district where ultra-conservative Kacsmaryk is the sole judge.

Like the plaintiffs, the judge refers to studies on the risks attributed to the abortion pill, which are considered negligible by the majority of the scientific community. They accuse the FDA of not following standard (safety) procedures when the drug was reviewed by the agency in 2000. According to the prosecutors, this was due to political motives.

At the same time, however, a federal judge in Washington state ruled in another lawsuit that the license to sell mifepristone cannot be revoked.

So it will likely be up to the Supreme Court, which former Republican President Trump has equipped with more conservative judges, to provide clarity.