USA: Judge tries to suspend sale of abortion pill – 07/04/2023 – World

A US federal judge tried to stop the sale of the abortion pill mifepristone. This Friday’s decision (7) is the latest chapter in the judicial offensive against reproductive rights in the country, and comes ten months after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to voluntary termination of pregnancy.

District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, of Amarillo, Texas, gave Joe Biden’s government a week to appeal the decision before it goes into effect. The White House said it was studying the decision.

The measure is preliminary in nature, and would effectively suspend mifepristone until a final verdict is reached in a lawsuit filed by doctors and conservative activists against the FDA, the US health watchdog.

The magistrate, who was appointed to the post by former President Donald Trump, justified the decision by stating that the FDA granted authorization for the sale of the drug “based on unfounded logic and studies that do not support its conclusions”.

In response, the Biden government claimed that the drug’s sales authorization has scientific backing.

The NGO Planned Parenthood, which maintains reproductive health clinics in the country, said the measure was deeply harmful. “The instrumentalization of our justice system to further restrict abortion across the country is evident,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president of the organization.

Clinics that offer termination services have said that if mifepristone is no longer available, they would turn to a commonly given co-administered drug, misoprostol. However, treatment with misoprostol alone is considered less effective.

Kacsmaryk’s decision is expected to be challenged immediately by a New Orleans court of appeals. Ultimately, the impasse can be taken to the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority.

In June, the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade that had been taken by the same court 49 years ago, so that abortion in the United States ceased to be a constitutional right. Now, it is up to each state to legislate on the matter.