A Texas judge questions the safety of an abortion pill that the Food and Drug Association (FDA) approved in the first hearing of a lawsuit that could bring an end to the most common method of abortion that is being used in the United States.
The lawsuit is from a Christian group trying to overturn federal regulators' decades-old approval of the abortion pill. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, during the hearing, observed more than four hours' worth of debate over the request of the Alliance Defending Freedom to revoke or suspend the approval of the FDA on mifepristone.
Safety of the Abortion Pill
Suppose judge Kacsmaryk rules in favor of the Christian group. In that case, it will become an unprecedented challenge to the federal agency and its authority to decide which drugs can be placed on the market. The judge said he would rule on the matter as soon as possible but did not indicate how he might decide.
Kacsmaryk left open the question of whether or not access to the standard regimen for medication abortions could soon be curtailed across the United States. As per the Associated Press, Mifepristone was approved in 2000 when combined with a second pill to end pregnancies until the 10th week.
The pill has been increasingly prescribed since the United States Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade last summer. Now, the lawsuit in Texas is the latest high-stakes legal battle regarding access to abortion since the country's highest court returned the question of its legality back to individual states.
The judge, former President Donald Trump appointed, asked some of his most pointed questions for attorneys representing the alliance in the latter parts of the hearing. He urged them to explain to the court why it has that sweeping authority, which referenced the group's request to pull the pill from the market.
Furthermore, Kacsmaryk questioned whether or not the group had the legal standing to obtain a pretrial ruling. He also grilled both parties on US Supreme Court cases set out when such extraordinary relief is allowed.
Unprecedented Lawsuit
There is no precedent of a court ordering the suspension of a long-approved medication. However, according to the Washington Post, Judge Kacsmaryk questioned whether or not the pill met the rigorous federal standard necessary to be allowed on the market.
The judge asked a lawyer for the group that filed the lawsuit whether or not the court could unilaterally withdraw FDA approval for a drug. He also engaged with both parties' attorneys regarding whether the mailing of the pills should be banned due to a 19th-century law that criminalizes sending articles "for any indecent or immoral use" through the postal service.
A potential suspension of the pill could have a widespread effect on the United States, not only in regions where abortion is illegal. This is primarily due to medication abortion being used in more than half of pregnancy terminations in the country. Furthermore, 40% of clinics offering abortion services offer only abortion pills, not the surgical procedure itself, said the New York Times.
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