WASHINGTON — The Biden administration asked a federal appeals court to suspend a ruling by a conservative U.S. judge in Texas blocking access to an abortion pill nationwide at the end of the week.
Lawyers for the government argue that the “extraordinary and unprecedented” ruling upends the status quo and should be blocked while they pursue a full appeal of the case. They asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to issue an emergency order by Thursday afternoon.
“If allowed to take effect, the court’s order would thwart FDA’s scientific judgment and severely harm women, particularly those for whom mifepristone is a medical or practical necessity,” lawyers for the government wrote in the filing Monday, referring to the Texas federal judge’s ruling against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s decades-old approval of the abortion medication. “This harm would be felt throughout the country, given that mifepristone has lawful uses in every state.”
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo on Friday suspended the FDA’s approval, siding with anti-abortion rights advocates who said the government failed to take into account health concerns about the drug and that its approval was improperly politically motivated.
His ruling was followed almost immediately by a contradictory order from a federal judge in Washington, who told the government to preserve access to the pill. The U.S. Justice Department has asked the Washington judge to clarify how the government can comply with both orders.
