The US Department of Justice has asked an appeals court to stay a Texas federal judge’s ruling that bans the use of mifepristone, a pill used in more than half of abortions in the country. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the use of mifepristone, but Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk overturned that approval last week.
The Justice Department has asserted that the judge’s decision “will frustrate the FDA’s scientific judgment and seriously harm women” and has asked the US Fifth Circuit to stay the judge’s order pending a full appeal. President Joe Biden has vowed to fight the ruling, calling it “an unprecedented step to take away women’s basic freedoms and put their health at risk.”
Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling comes after a coalition of anti-abortion groups filed a lawsuit to freeze the nationwide distribution of mifepristone. Kacsmaryk adopted language used by abortion opponents, referring to pregnancy termination providers as “abortionists” and saying the drug was used to “kill the unborn human being.”
Mifepristone is one component of a two-drug regimen that can be used in the United States during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The FDA estimates that 5.6 million Americans have used it to terminate pregnancies since its approval.