A conservative Texas judge on Friday put a dent in the blue wall of abortion rights protections, issuing an order that could suspend approval of a drug used in medication abortions by women across the country – including in states with robust protections in place.
The decision from District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk could represent the biggest blow to abortion rights in the US since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer. That ruling upended the 2022 midterm elections, prompting a backlash that helped Democrats outperform expectations at almost every level of government.
Kacsmaryk paused his ruling for seven days to allow the federal government to appeal, an opportunity the Justice Department, joined by the drug manufacturer, quickly said it would take. President Joe Biden slammed the decision, calling it “another unprecedented step in taking away basic freedoms from women and putting their health at risk” and warning that the Food and Drug Administration’s mission now risked being undermined by “political, ideological attacks.”
Further complicating the matter, another federal judge, in Washington state, ruled Friday that the US Food and Drug Administration could not restrict access to the drug, mifepristone, in a separate lawsuit brought by Democratic state attorneys general.
The conflicting federal court decisions have likely produced a legal stalemate that will end up before the US Supreme Court. But the political fallout is already coming into focus, with Democrats at every level of government warning that the Trump-appointed Texas judge’s ruling is both gravely unjust and another step by anti-abortion Republicans in their quest to outlaw the procedure nationwide.
This long-brewing judicial clash comes just days after voters in Wisconsin flipped a state Supreme Court seat, and control of the bench, to favor liberals in a…
Read the full article here