Abortion pill opponents urge US appeals court to allow ban
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[April 12, 2023]
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - Abortion opponents on Tuesday urged a U.S. appeals court to
allow the suspension of Food and Drug Administration's approval of the
abortion pill mifepristone, in a case with potentially far-reaching
impact on how the government regulates medicine.
In a filing with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans,
lawyers for groups and doctors who oppose abortion and challenged the
FDA's more than two decade-old approval of the drug said a government
request to stay the suspension was "extraordinary and unprecedented" and
should be denied.
The abortion opponents' requests came one day after the U.S. Department
of Justice urged the appeals court to put U.S. District Judge Matthew
Kacsmaryk's April 7 order voiding the FDA's approval on hold through the
appeals process.
Kacsmaryk, a Texas judge appointed by former Republican President Donald
Trump, had issued only a seven-day stay.
The groups and doctors are led by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine,
which was formed last August. It is not clear when the 5th Circuit will
rule on extending the stay.
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Mifepristone is the first pill in a two-drug regimen for medication
abortions used in more than half of all U.S. abortions. Several states
have announced plans to stockpile mifepristone or the other drug,
misoprostol.
The Justice Department said on Monday that mifepristone was safe, and
Kacsmaryk's decision would "thwart FDA's scientific judgment and
severely harm women, particularly those for whom mifepristone is a
medical or practical necessity."
Several hundred drug and biotechnology company executives not involved
in making mifepristone on Monday called for a reversal of the judge's
decision, saying they count on the FDA's autonomy and authority to
approve new drugs for patients.
"If courts can overturn drug approvals without regard for science or
evidence, or for the complexity required to fully vet the safety and
efficacy of new drugs, any medicine is at risk for the same outcome as
mifepristone," they said.
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![](../images/041223PIX/health75.jpg)
Boxes of mifepristone, the first pill
given in a medical abortion, are prepared for patients at Women's
Reproductive Clinic of New Mexico in Santa Teresa, U.S., January 13,
2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Sep/05/images/ads/current/stclara_lda_SPONSOR_090519.png) Twenty-three mostly Democratic-led
states plus Washington, D.C., 28 municipalities including Baltimore,
Boston and Los Angeles, and most Democratic members of Congress
filed briefs supporting a longer stay of the decision.
Many others backed the decision, including 69 Republican members of
Congress who said the FDA's actions posed "grave risks" to women and
girls seeking "chemical abortions," a term the judge also used.
Kacsmaryk, based in Amarillo, ruled that the FDA exceeded its
authority by ignoring mifepristone's risks and relying on "plainly
unsound reasoning" when approving it.
Eighteen minutes later, a federal judge in Washington state issued a
contradictory ruling that directed the FDA to keep the drug
available in 17 states and Washington, D.C.
If the split persists, the U.S. Supreme Court may be asked to
resolve the matter.
Federal appeals courts normally assign cases to three-judge panels.
Twelve of the 16 5th Circuit judges who hear cases are Republican
appointees.
The case is Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine et al v FDA et al, 5th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-10362.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Editing by Alexia
Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot)
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