Washington DC.- The nation’s top health official declared that a court ruling threatening the availability of an abortion pill in Texas “is not the United States” and did not rule out the possibility of defying the judge’s orders if necessary.
“We want the courts to overturn this irresponsible ruling,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told CNN’s “State of the Union” program.
“We do want women to continue to have access to a drug that has been shown to be safe. Millions of women have used this drug around the world,” he added.
She emphasized that for now, women do have access to mifepristone after a federal judge in Texas appointed by then-President Donald Trump, Matthew Kacsmaryk, on Friday put his ruling on hold for a week so the federal government could file a motion. against. The drug was approved in 2000 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, which is led by Becerra.
President Joe Biden has declared that his administration will oppose the ruling issued in Texas. Kacsmaryk’s 67-page ruling gives the government seven days to appeal.
“Our intention is to do everything possible to keep the drug available, not just a week from now, but ultimately, in the future, because mifepristone is one of the safest and most effective drugs that we have seen in the last 20 years to help women in their health care, especially abortion-related care,” Becerra said.
Asked if he could recommend that the FDA ignore a court ruling, Becerra replied:
“Everything is on the table.”
