El Paso, US.- A federal judge in Texas is hearing arguments Wednesday in an attempt by anti-abortion groups to ban the sale of the abortion pill mifepristone nationwide, including in states where abortion is legal.
Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a former President Donald Trump appointee, is weighing a lawsuit by Christian conservatives aimed at revoking the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the abortion pill more than two decades.
The drug, when used with a second pill, has become the most common abortion method in the US. There is essentially no precedent for a judge to overrule FDA scientific decisions.
And legal experts have warned of far-reaching consequences if judges begin to challenge the agency’s decisions on the safety and efficacy of drugs.
Dozens of journalists and people planning to attend the hearing gathered before dawn outside the federal courthouse in Amarillo. The hearing began at 9:00 am (local time).
Protests, organized in part by the feminist organization Women’s March, are expected in front of the courthouse. Wednesday’s hearing is the first in the case, which is being closely followed by groups on both sides of the abortion issue after last year’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.
The judge can rule at any time after hearing the arguments. Any ruling is likely to be immediately appealed to the New Orleans-based US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The Alliance for the Defense of Freedom today asked Judge Kacsmaryk for an immediate order that would revoke or suspend the drug’s approval.
Such a step would be an unprecedented challenge for the FDA, which approved mifepristone in combination with a second pill as a safe and effective method of ending abortion in 2000.
FDA lawyers are expected to argue that removing mifepristone from the market would disrupt the reproductive care of American women and undermine the government’s scientific oversight of prescription drugs.
Kacsmaryk has given each side two hours to discuss their position in the high-stakes court case. Mifepristone’s maker, Danco Laboratories, will join the FDA in defending the availability of the pill.
If the federal judge rules against the FDA, it’s unclear how quickly access to mifepristone could be reduced or how the process would work. The FDA has its own procedures for revoking drug approvals that involve public hearings and scientific deliberations, which can take months or years.
