The FDA and mifepristone manufacturer Danco Laboratories have also appealed the decision.
Though the Biden administration is painting Kacsmaryk’s decision as an example of judicial overreach, Picciotti told CNA that his “order was very thorough, very measured and does show a lot of the administrative sleight of hands that were done by the FDA over the years.”
According to Picciotti, the 5th Circuit will most likely at least rule on whether to freeze Kacsmaryk’s decision this week.
Whichever way the 5th Circuit rules, with the Supreme Court set to go into recess toward the end of June and the DOJ requesting emergency review, Picciotti believes the issue will end up in the nation’s highest court very soon.
Are abortion pills illegal?
By issuing a “stay,” Kacsmaryk’s ruling will block the FDA’s abortion pill approval as unlawful. Kacsmaryk set the decision to take effect on Saturday, April 15, meaning the pills remain legal for now.
Without FDA approval, the legal distribution of mifepristone will be forced to come to a halt across the country. Yet, a lot can change before Saturday.
The Biden DOJ is asking the 5th Circuit Court to freeze the Texas ruling from going into effect until the court is finished reviewing and issues its final opinion. The DOJ has asked the court to freeze Kacsmaryk’s ruling by noon Thursday, “to enable the government to seek relief in the Supreme Court if necessary.”
With all this in flux, it is currently unclear whether abortion pills will be allowed to remain on shelves after Saturday.
Notably, some Democratic leaders, such as the governors in California, Washington, and Massachusetts, are not waiting for a final result and have begun stockpiling years’ worth of abortion pill supplies.
Are abortion drugs safe for women?
(Story continues below)
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The Biden administration continues to maintain that significant FDA research has proven mifepristone to be safe and effective. Yet, according to Mariah Buzza, assistant director of health policy at Christ Medicus Foundation, FDA research is lacking due to the administration’s 2016 decision to remove the requirement for physicians to report nonfatal adverse effects after taking mifepristone.
“Women have been left misinformed, blatantly lied to, and at great risk of harm with mifepristone on the market,” Buzza said. “Through my work and scholarship on women’s health and wellness, I have become painfully aware of the negative impact of mifepristone. While the scope of impact is underreported due to inadequacies with the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System, it is known that at least two women have bled to death from undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies after taking these drugs.”
“Because the FDA removed the requirement for confirmation of a uterine pregnancy before administration of mifepristone, we know that women who take this drug are at risk for fatal bleeding if certain pregnancy complications do exist,” Buzza said.
Dr. Ingrid Skop, an OB-GYN and vice president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, told CNA that “from the beginning,” the FDA has inappropriately classified mifepristone as a treatment for a life-threatening illness, “when the vast majority of the time, pregnancy is not a life-threatening illness.”
“It saddens me when we see politicians vow that they will break the law in order to pursue a pro-abortion agenda,” Skop told CNA. “These pills are dangerous for women; I have seen this over and over, approximately 1 out of 20 women will require surgery often in emergent circumstances … Continuing to prioritize distributing these dangerous drugs, particularly if it’s illegal, just shows a blatant disregard for the rule of law and also a blatant disregard for the health and safety of women.”
Peter Pinedo is a DC Correspondent for CNA. A graduate of Franciscan University, Peter previously worked for Texas Right to Life. He is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve.
