Reproductive Rights
US government cracks down on abortion pill suspension
People demonstrate in New York against the approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, which was suspended by a Texas federal court. photo
© Milo Hess/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Since abortion rights were overturned across the country, conservative-governed US states have passed increasingly strict laws. In Texas, this has now brought the Biden government onto the scene.
The US government is challenging a court ruling suspending approval of an abortion drug. The Ministry of Justice submitted an urgent application to an appeals court on Monday (local time). On Friday, a judge in the state of Texas suspended approval for mifepristone. The decision is expected to go into effect at the end of this week.
The application states that the judge came to a “wrong assessment”. The drug is “safe and effective.” “Should this order come into force, it will cause irreparable damage to patients, the healthcare system and companies.”
Mifepristone was approved in the US in 2000 and is commonly used with the drug misoprostol for pregnancy termination. Misoprostol can also be used alone. However, the World Health Organization only recommends this if mifepristone is not available.
Biden warns against conservative agenda
According to the FDA, mifepristone is a reliable drug. Abortion opponents want to make access to medical abortion more difficult with the lawsuit against the approval. The religious right and large parts of the Republican Party in particular have been trying for decades to curtail abortion rights in the USA – with success.
Last year, the right-wing Supreme Court overturned the country’s nearly 50-year abortion law. According to surveys, a majority of the population supports this right. President Joe Biden had already announced that he would take action against the Texas decision. The decision is “the next big step towards a nationwide ban on abortion,” warned the Democrat.
It is expected that the case will ultimately also end up before the Supreme Court – also because a court in the state of Washington made a judgment almost at the same time that runs counter to the decision from Texas.