The anti-abortion groups at the center of the Texas lawsuit over a widely used abortion pill urged a federal appeals court to let the controversial ruling that endangers access to the medication stand.
Those groups argued in a new filing overnight that no harm results from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals letting Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk’s order invalidating the Food and Drug Administration’s 23-year-old approval of the medication mifepristone go into effect. The groups had brought a challenge to the process by which the drug was originally approved.
Kacsmaryk ruling was “meticulously considered,” the plaintiffs in the case argued.
“[T]he order merely removes mifepristone from the mails and the market,” lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote. “[A]bortion will still be available in states that permit it.”
Mifepristone is part of the standard two-pill regimen for medication abortions. The Biden administration has condemned the ruling, as as have a coalition of more than 200 drugmakers.
“If allowed to take effect, the court’s order would thwart FDA’s scientific judgment and severely harm women, particularly those for whom mifepristone is a medical or practical necessity,” the Justice Department wrote in a previous filing. “This harm would be felt throughout the country, given that mifepristone has lawful uses in every state. The order would undermine healthcare systems and the reliance interests of businesses and medical providers.”
The Justice Department and Danco Laboratories, the manufacturer of Mifeprex, the brand name for generic mifepristone, now have until later Wednesday to respond.
The DOJ and Danco have requested that the 5th Circuit issue an “administrative stay” of Kacsmaryk’s ruling in order to allow more time for the legal process to play out.
The court could rule on that request at any time. Kacsmaryk’s ruling would go effect early Saturday barring intervention from the court.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
