NonilexApr 7, 2023
#Texas judge suspends #FDA approval of #abortion pill #mifepristone

Federal lawsuit by conservative groups followed the #SupremeCourt’s elimination of the #ConstitutionalRight to abortion last June

#AbortionRights #AbortionIsEssential #ForcedBirth #HumanRights #JudgeShopping #VenueShopping #FederalistSociety #RightWingExtremism #JudicialEthics #SCOTUS
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/07/texas-abortion-pill-ruling-mifepristone/
Texas judge suspends FDA approval of abortion pill; second judge protects access

The decision will probably be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, and the case could make its way to the Supreme Court.

The Washington Post
Show threadNonilex

A fed judge in #TX blocked US gov approval of a key #AbortionMedication Fri, siding w/#abortion foes in an unprecedented lawsuit …upending #nationwide access….

The highly anticipated ruling puts on hold the #FDA’s approval of #mifepristone, …first cleared for use in the US in 2000. The ruling will not go into effect for 7 days to give the gov time to #appeal.

#AbortionRights #AbortionIsEssential #HumanRights #JudgeShopping #VenueShopping #FederalistSociety #RightWingExtremism #JudicialEthics

Apr 7, 2023 at 11:07pmWeb
Show threadNonilexApr 7, 2023

US Dist #JudgeKacsmaryk, a nom of…#Trump w/long-held #antiabortion views, agreed w/the #conservative grps seeking to reverse the #FDA’s approval of #mifepristone as safe & effective, incl’g in states where #AbortionRights are protected.
The Biden admin will probably #appeal to the #USCourtOfAppeals for the #5thCircuit, & the case could make its way to the #SupremeCourt.

#AbortionIsEssential #HumanRights #JudgeShopping #VenueShopping #FederalistSociety #RightWingExtremism #JudicialEthics #SCOTUS

Show threadNonilexApr 7, 2023

Medication-induced abortion — the most common method of #abortion in the #UnitedStates — has become increasingly contentious since #SCOTUS overturned #RoeVWade.

The lawsuit was brought by the legal grp #AllianceDefendingFreedom on behalf of #antiabortion medical orgs & 4 (antiabortion) doctors who say they have treated patients w/#mifepristone. It claims the #FDA did not have the power to approve the drug — 1 of 2 medications that are used together to terminate a pregnancy….

#AbortionRights

Show threadNonilexApr 7, 2023
…The gov & drug manufacturer also argued that the plaintiffs had #NoLegalStanding …bc the antiabortion drs cannot show direct harm.…
In a brief filed before the hearing, leading orgs of physicians & other #PublicHealth professionals told #Kacsmaryk that reversing #FDA approval of #mifepristone after 23 yrs would “cause profound & irreparable harm to patients across the country.” …1st time a court ordered the FDA to remove a med from the market despite oppo from the FDA & the drug’s manufacturer.
Show threadNonilexApr 7, 2023
W/o access to #mifepristone, #abortion clinics would have to either default to a misoprostol-only medication abortion protocol, or perform only surgical abortions. Providers said either scenario would result in massive upheaval as they try to enact new procedures, which some clinic owners fear may present #legal hurdles. A few have been stockpiling mifepristone in anticipation of the ruling, hoping they… (can) distribute the pills they already have regardless of #Kacsmaryk’s decision.
Show threadNonilexApr 7, 2023
In briefs filed as part of the challenge, legal scholars warned that any court decision taking #mifepristone off the market also would have far-reaching #consequences for other #drugs considered safe & effective. Patients who rely on #lifesaving medications could see their drugs removed from the market w/little notice, they said.

“We are not aware of any case in which a court has removed a drug from the market over FDA’s objection,” said a brief filed on behalf of the #FDA legal scholars.
Show threadNonilexApr 7, 2023
If appealed, it goes to the #5thCircuit, of which Ruth Marcus wrote,“the 5th Circuit…is staking out a claim to be the most dangerous —the least wedded to respecting #precedent or following an orderly #judicial process.
“The 5th is arguably the most #conservative among the country’s dozen appeals courts. It inclined in that direction even before…Trump managed to install 6 nominees
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/08/31/5th-circuit-is-staking-out-claim-be-americas-most-dangerous-court/
The 5th Circuit is staking out a claim to be America’s most dangerous court

This is a court that goes out of its way to reduce procedural obstacles and give a helping hand for litigants whose causes they favor.

The Washington Post
Show threadNonilexApr 7, 2023
And they constitute quite a bunch: Stuart Kyle Duncan, who said #SCOTUS’s 2015 ruling establishing a #right to same-sex marriage “imperils civic peace” & “raises a question about the legitimacy of the court.” Cory Wilson, who tweeted about Hillary Clinton using the hashtag CrookedHillary, called the Affordable Care Act “illegitimate” & said he supported overturning #RoeVWade. James C. Ho, who issued a concurring opinion lamenting the “moral tragedy of abortion.”

#mifepristone #AbortionRights