A federal appeals court partly granted the Biden administration’s request to put on hold a Texas court ruling overturning FDA approval of the abortion pill, but allowed restrictions that were lifted since 2016 to be reinstated.
A divided three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday declined the Justice Department’s bid for an emergency stay on the part of the order as it related to the changes the FDA made since 2016. The court agreed to expedite the appeal.
According to the ruling, the challenge to the 2000 approval of mifepristone appears to be barred by the statute of limitations, but the challenges brought to changes the FDA implemented since 2016, including allowing the delivery of the drug by mail and without follow-up visits to a doctor, are timely.
