The American Christian Right’s crusade against abortion is intensifying. A federal judge announced on Friday suspending the marketing authorization in the United States of mifepristone (RU 486), one of the two pills necessary for medical abortions, which in practice prevents its prescription. Its decision concerns the whole country, including the States protecting the right to abortion, and affects the approximately 500,000 women who resort to the abortion pill each year.
The magistrate, however, clarified that he gave the Biden administration a week to appeal this decision, which it immediately did. At the same time, a judge in Washington State ordered the US Drug Administration (FDA) to continue prescribing mifepristone. Faced with these two contradictory decisions, the Supreme Court, which returned last summer to Roe v. Wade, which has allowed conservative states to ban or strictly limit abortion, could be called upon to play the referees.
“Adult Erotic Desires”
Magistrate Matthew Kacsmaryk is known for his ultra-conservative views: before his appointment by Donald Trump, he was a lawyer with a Christian anti-abortion organization. In 2015, he regretted in an editorial that fetuses “go after the erotic desires” of adults.
On 67 pages, the judge validates most of the arguments contained in the complaint filed in November by a coalition of doctors and organizations hostile to abortion against the American Medicines Agency (FDA).
Like them, he resumes studies on the risks attributed to the abortion pill, although they are considered negligible by the majority of the scientific community. He also accuses the FDA of failing to follow its procedures in order to meet a political objective.
Supreme Court fight in sight
It is likely that the federal government of President Joe Biden will quickly appeal its decision, which will then be reviewed urgently by a Court of Appeals located in New Orleans, also known for its conservatism. The case should therefore end quickly before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Deeply overhauled by Donald Trump, in June it granted a historic victory to opponents of abortion by removing the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy, which gave each state its freedom to legislate in the matter. Since then, about fifteen have banned abortions on their soil.