US appeal court preserves access to abortion drug, but under tighter rules
- US appeal court ruled mifepristone will remain available for now, but with significant restrictions including a requirement for in-person doctor visits to obtain the drug
- However, the appeal court declined to block portions of an order, that effectively reinstate restrictions on the pill’s distribution that had been lifted since 2016
The abortion pill mifepristone will remain available in the United States for now but with significant restrictions including a requirement for in-person doctor visits to obtain the drug, a federal appeal court ruled late on Wednesday.
The New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals put on hold part of last Friday’s order by US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, that had suspended the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the drug while he hears a lawsuit by anti-abortion groups seeking to ban it.
However, the appeal court declined to block portions of Kacsmaryk’s order, which is set to take effect on Friday, that effectively reinstate restrictions on the pill’s distribution that had been lifted since 2016. In addition to a requirement of three in-person doctor visits, those restrictions include limiting the drug’s use to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, down from the current 10.
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The ruling came from a panel of three 5th Circuit judges, two appointed by then-President Donald Trump and one by George W. Bush, both Republicans. The Biden administration, the anti-abortion groups or both could now appeal the US Supreme Court.
The FDA and lawyers for the groups could not immediately be reached for comment.
Kacsmaryk’s ruling apparently conflicts with a different federal judge’s decision, also issued last Friday, ordering the FDA to maintain access to mifepristone with no new restrictions in 17 states and the District of Columbia. The Biden administration has asked the judge in that case to clarify his order in light of Kacsmaryk’s.
The lawsuit before Kacsmaryk was filed against the FDA in November by four anti-abortion groups led by the recently formed Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and four anti-abortion doctors. They contend the agency used an improper process when it approved mifepristone in 2000 and did not adequately consider the drug’s safety when used by girls under age 18 to terminate a pregnancy.