A United States appeals court froze part of a Texas judge’s order late Wednesday night that would have suspended the Food and Drug Administration’s authorization of the abortion drug mifepristone.
The court only partially granted the Justice Department and the drug manufacturer’s request to put U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling on hold, with the panel essentially making the drug harder to obtain, per CNN. The pill was the first drug commonly used to terminate a pregnancy through 10 weeks and is involved in roughly half of abortions nationwide.
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Last Friday, Kacsmaryk sided with anti-abortion groups by ruling that the FDA’s decades-old approval of mifepristone should be suspended. The decision gave the Biden administration a week to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and will not go into effect until then.
Soon after Kacsmaryk’s ruling, Washington-based U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice issued a ruling directly contradicting it, holding that mifepristone is safe. The Washington ruling ordered the FDA to make no changes to the availability of the drug.
The Justice Department subsequently asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to stay the order pending appeal.
This is a developing news story. Check back here for updates.
