US judge bans sale of abortion pill mifepristone, Biden appeals | Abroad

Ten months after the Supreme Court ruling gave every state in the US the freedom to ban abortions within its borders, the ruling is seen as another victory for the conservative movement seeking to restrict access to abortion. The magistrate gave the federal government up to a week to appeal the decision.

US President Joe Biden called it an “unprecedented attempt to deprive women of basic freedoms”. Vice President Kamala Harris said the decision “threatens women’s rights”.

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 apply for suspension in the meantime,” he added.

In his 67-page verdict, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk validates 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 had deliberately brought the case to Amarillo, Texas, so that it would go before ultra-conservative Kacsmaryk, the only federal judge there.

Like them, 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 Donald Trump has equipped with more conservative justices, to provide clarity.

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