In this 2018 photo, mifepristone and misoprostol pills are provided at a Carafem clinic for medication abortions in Skokie, Illinois.
Erin Hooley | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
The Biden administration will ask the Supreme Court to intervene in the legal fight around the abortion pill mifepristone, after a federal appeals court allowed the drug to stay on the market but imposed restrictions on its use.
In a statement Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department “strongly disagrees” with the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision. He added that the administration will “be seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court to defend the FDA’s scientific judgment and protect Americans’ access to safe and effective reproductive care.”
The appeals court late Wednesday blocked U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s order that suspended the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone. The court said federal statutes of limitations appear to bar the anti-abortion groups who brought the lawsuit from challenging the agency’s more than two-decade-old approval of the drug.
But the court temporarily rolled back major changes the FDA has implemented over the years to make mifepristone easier to use and obtain. The order bars mail delivery of the abortion pill. Patients will now have to obtain the prescription drug from a doctor and will have to undergo several examinations in person while they are taking the medication.
The court changed the time frame when mifepristone can be administered to up to 49 days into the pregnancy, down from the previous 70 days.
The three judge panel voted 2-1 in favor of reimposing restrictions on mifepristone. Judges Kurt Engelhardt and Andrew Oldham, who were appointed by former President Donald Trump, voted in favor. Judge Catharina Haynes, who was appointed by former President George Bush, supported blocking Kacsmaryk’s entire order for a brief period.
The court has expedited the case to oral arguments…
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