Washington.- A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday night that the abortion pill mifepristone could remain available, but judges blocked the delivery of the drug to patients by mail and reversed other measures the government had taken to facilitate access in the last years.
In its order, a three-judge panel for the Fifth Circuit partially overturned Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas, who last week ruled that the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone in 2000 was not valid, essentially saying that the drug should be withdrawn from the market.
The appeals court said its ruling would stand until the full case was heard on its merits.
In its order, the appeals panel said the FDA’s approval of mifepristone could be upheld because too much time had passed for the plaintiffs, a consortium of anti-abortion groups and doctors, to challenge that decision. The court also appeared to take into account the government’s view that removing a long-approved drug from the market would have “significant public consequences.”
But the appeals court said it was not too late for the plaintiffs to challenge a series of steps the FDA took starting in 2016 that lifted the restrictions and made it easier for more patients to have access to the pill.
The court also said the government could not logically argue that changes made since 2016 “were so critical to the public given that the nation operated and administered mifepristone to millions of women” before the old restrictions were relaxed.
Those changes approved the use of the pill for up to 10 weeks of pregnancy instead of seven weeks, allowed some non-physician health providers to prescribe it, and allowed mifepristone to be mailed to patients instead of requiring it. Pick up at a health center.
These steps significantly expanded access to medical abortion, which is now used for more than half of all pregnancy terminations in the United States. It usually involves taking mifepristone, which blocks a hormone that allows a pregnancy to develop, followed a day or two later by another drug, misoprostol, which causes contractions similar to those of a miscarriage. The court says the abortion pill may remain available, but imposes temporary restrictions
NOW
A federal appeals court ruled late Wednesday that the abortion pill mifepristone could remain available, but judges blocked mailing the drug to patients and reversed other steps the government had taken to facilitate access in recent years. .
In its order, a three-judge panel for the Fifth Circuit partially overturned Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas, who last week ruled that the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone in 2000 was not valid, essentially saying that the drug should be withdrawn from the market.
The appeals court said its ruling would stand until the full case was heard on its merits.
In its order, the appeals panel said the FDA’s approval of mifepristone could be upheld because too much time had passed for the plaintiffs, a consortium of anti-abortion groups and doctors, to challenge that decision. The court also appeared to take into account the government’s view that removing a long-approved drug from the market would have “significant public consequences.”
But the appeals court said it was not too late for the plaintiffs to challenge a series of steps the FDA took starting in 2016 that lifted the restrictions and made it easier for more patients to have access to the pill.
The court also said the government could not logically argue that changes made since 2016 “were so critical to the public given that the nation operated and administered mifepristone to millions of women” before the old restrictions were relaxed.
Those changes approved the use of the pill for up to 10 weeks of pregnancy instead of seven weeks, allowed some non-physician health providers to prescribe it, and allowed mifepristone to be mailed to patients instead of requiring it. Pick up at a health center.
These steps significantly expanded access to medical abortion, which is now used for more than half of all pregnancy terminations in the United States. It usually involves taking mifepristone, which blocks a hormone that allows a pregnancy to develop, followed a day or two later by another medication, misoprostol, which causes contractions similar to those of a miscarriage.
