Mifepristone has been widely available for over 20 years
It is the most commonly used method of abortion in the US
There were two separate ruling issued minutes apart by fed judges in Texas and Washington State (the second best state)
US District Judge Matthew Kacmaryk (Trump appointee) ordered a hold on the federal approval of Mifepristone in a decision
Overruled decades of scientific approval by the FDA
He gave the government seven days to appeal
US District Judge Thomas O. Rice (Obama appointee) ordered basically the opposite and directed US authorities to not make any changes that would restrict access to the drug in the 17 states (at least) where Democrats have sued to protect availability
Filed by a dozen Democratic Attorney Generals
Blocked the FDA from “any action to remove mifepristone from the market or otherwise cause the drug to become less available.”
The timing is extraordinary
Courts have deferred to the FDA on issues of drug safety and effectiveness for a long time
Legal experts warned the ruling could upend decades of precent and set stage for political groups to overturn other FDA approvals of other (controversial) medications and vaccines
Because of the contradictory nature experts said there would be little immediate impact
There is the possibility that mifepristone could become an unapproved drug in the next week in the United States
Legal experts say that even if Texas ruling is upheld in the end there would be several legal options that could allow Mifepristone to continue making the drug and providers to continue prescribing it
This is likely to escalate to SCOTUS potentially sooner rather than later due to dueling opinions
PC: Reuters