In a Texas case involving limited access to the abortion drug mifepristone, the Justice Department is seeking emergency relief from the United States Supreme Court.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled late Wednesday that mifespristone, which is used in most medication abortions and to treat miscarriages in the United States, is approved for use up to seven weeks of pregnancy during the appeals process, but cannot be dispensed by mail.
This was a step back from the previous approval of up to 10 weeks and mail-in access to the prescribed medication.
“The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the Fifth Circuit’s decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA to deny in part our request for a stay pending appeal. We will be seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court to defend the FDA’s scientific judgment and protect Americans’ access to safe and effective reproductive care,” Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote in a statement announcing the Justice Department’s action.
Lawyers for the Biden administration had previously requested an emergency stay on a lower court’s injunction ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, which was set to take effect Friday and would prevent the Food and Drug Administration from approving mifepristone.
Department of Justice lawyers argued that “the district court upended decades of reliance by blocking FDA’s approval of mifepristone and depriving patients of access to this safe and effective treatment, based on the court’s own misguided assessment of the drug’s safety.”
The Supreme Court has not yet indicated if it will take up the case.
The Fifth Circuit’s decision drew rebuke from Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday. It “second-guesses the agency’s medical experts,” she said. “If this decision stands, no medication — from chemotherapy drugs, to asthma medicine, to blood pressure pills, to insulin — would be safe from attacks.”