[ "Todays ruling from a MAGA judge—who was hand-selected to hear
this case by the anti-abortion activists who brought it—is an
audacious act of judicial meddling in our personal healthcare
decisions," said one reproductive rights campaigner. ]
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EVERYONE BLASTS RULING ON FDA’S MIFEPRISTONE APPROVAL  
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Brett Wilkins
April 8, 2023
Common Dreams
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_ "Today's ruling from a MAGA judge—who was hand-selected to hear
this case by the anti-abortion activists who brought it—is an
audacious act of judicial meddling in our personal healthcare
decisions," said one reproductive rights campaigner. _

Mifepristone and Misoprostol, the two drugs used in a medication
abortion, are seen at the Women's Reproductive Clinic in Santa Teresa,
New Mexico on June 17, 2022., Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

 

Reproductive rights advocates and Democratic U.S. lawmakers on
Saturday condemned a far-right federal judge's ruling that threatens
access to mifepristone—one of two drugs commonly used in abortion
pills—while calling on the Biden administration to do everything in
its power to ensure access to the medication.

On Saturday, more than 40 House Democrats urged President Joe Biden
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all the tools at your disposal to protect access to abortion and
reproductive healthcare" a day after U.S. District Judge Matthew
Kacsmaryk in Texas ruled in _Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA
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that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone
in 2000 was illegal. Kacsmaryk—an appointee of former President
Donald Trump—stayed his preliminary injunction for seven days to
give the FDA time to appeal.

Shortly after Kacsmaryk's ruling, U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice in
Washington state issued
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a contradictory ruling that blocks the FDA from removing mifepristone
from the market.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said
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late Friday that the Justice Department "strongly disagrees" with
Kacsmaryk's ruling and will appeal the decision.

Meanwhile, Democratic Attorneys General Association co-chairs Kathy
Jennings (Delaware) and Aaron Ford (Nevada) called Kacsmaryk's
decision "a disturbing and extraordinarily dangerous attack against
women across the country."

"We strongly condemn this decision and the ongoing right-wing assault
on reproductive rights, medical freedom, and abortion access," they
continued. "Millions of patients have used mifepristone safely over
the last two decades, but as we've seen across the country,
ultra-conservative groups—including some Republican attorneys
general—are not letting science, facts, or basic human rights stand
in the way of a medieval crusade against abortion access."

Meagan Hatcher-Mays, director of democracy policy at Indivisible, said
in a statement that "today's ruling from a MAGA judge—who was
hand-selected to hear this case by the anti-abortion activists who
brought it—is an audacious act of judicial meddling in our personal
healthcare decisions. And it confirms what we already know:
Republicans do not give a damn about safety."

"They do not care about women," she added. "They couldn't care less
about the well-being of pregnant people. If they did, they'd be
fighting for access to healthcare and supporting paid leave policies."

Nancy Northup, president and CEO at the Center for Reproductive
Rights, said that "today's decision has no basis in law or fact. This
lawsuit was manufactured as part of an orchestrated campaign to deny
all women in the U.S. access to abortion, even those living in states
with strong abortion rights protections."

"While the decision is without merit, its impact will be devastating,
threatening access to a safe and effective medicine used by over five
million patients in the past two decades," Northup added. "The ruling
should be swiftly reversed on appeal."

Last November, the right-wing legal group Alliance Defending Freedom
challenged the FDA's approval of mifepristone, one of two medications
commonly taken in tandem to induce abortion.

Responding to the U.S. Supreme Court's cancellation
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of federal abortion rights in _Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health
Organization_, the FDA announced
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pharmacies could sell mifepristone. Walgreens, the nation's
second-largest pharmacy chain, subsequently said
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not sell mifepristone in states where Republican attorneys general
have threatened legal action.

As the Center for Reproductive Rights notes, "Without the FDA-approved
medication, both clinics and patients across the country will struggle
to provide and access time-sensitive abortion care."

"Since _Roe v. Wade_ was overturned, providers across the country have
already seen a massive influx of patients and increased wait times,
pushing time-sensitive care out of reach for many," the group added.
"The impacts of today's decision will fall hardest on communities who
already face structural barriers in accessing health care, including
communities of color, people living in rural areas, and those living
on a low income."

Some congressional Democrats urged Biden to simply ignore Kacsmaryk's
ruling.

"I think there's no basis for this ruling in law, and I think that the
Biden administration can and must ignore the judge and keep
mifepristone on the market and this medication available for every
woman in America," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told
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Friday.

Appearing on _CNN_ Friday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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said that "we've been preparing for and anticipating there being
egregious overreaches by members of the judiciary appointed by a
right-wing Republican Party whose goal for a very long time is to pack
the courts with partisan judges, often underqualified or completely
unqualified for their role."

"I believe that the Biden administration should ignore this ruling,"
Ocasio-Cortez asserted. "I think that the courts... rely upon the
legitimacy of their rulings. And what they are currently doing is
engaging in an unprecedented and dramatic erosion of the legitimacy of
the courts."

Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.
 
Common Dreams. To inform. To inspire. To ignite for the common good

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