Attorney Generals of Over 20 States Sound Alarm Over Suspension Of Abortion Med Approval: "Devastating Risks" Ahead

  • In a new court filing, the Democratic attorneys general for 23 U.S. states have reportedly warned that a federal judge's decision to suspend the FDA's approval of mifepristone "presents devastating risks to millions of people," including those in states where abortion remains legal.
  • The attorneys general, in their filing, called on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to keep mifepristone on the market.
  • Last week Friday, a U.S. judge suspended the FDA's approval of mifepristone, an abortion pill to terminate a pregnancy through ten weeks gestation.
  • But he put his decision on hold for one week to give the Biden administration time to appeal.
  • Also Read - Drugmakers Stand Up for Reproductive Rights: Pfizer and Biogen Among 300 Condemning Abortion Pill Approval Suspension.
  • Kacsmaryk's ruling will take effect at 12 a.m. CT on Saturday if the 5th Circuit does not halt it.
  • Citing the filing, CNBC reported that attorneys general and the District of Columbia condemned Kacsmaryk's ruling as "legally erroneous" and warned it would undermine the FDA's approval process.
  • The attorneys general argued that Kacsmaryk's order would "eviscerate the sovereign decisions" made by the states to protect access to abortion when last year, the Supreme Court's decision overturned Roe v. Wade, which said there was a federal constitutional right to abortion.
  • Kacsmaryk's decision does not affect the availability of misoprostol, which the World Health Organization recommends as a standalone abortion drug.
  • States such as California are stockpiling misoprostol if Kacsmaryk's decision goes into effect.
  • Photo via Wikimedia Commons
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