The use of the abortion pill remains temporarily authorized in the United States, but under more drastic conditions than before, according to a judgment rendered Wednesday evening by a federal appeals court. A panel of three judges of this appeals court, based in New Orleans, decided by two votes against one to maintain the authorization of the pill, but with stricter rules.
To access it, you now need three visits to the doctor during the prescription period, which will be limited to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, compared to ten previously. The Biden administration has announced that it will take the Supreme Court to challenge the restrictions on access to this stamp. The government will “defend the scientific judgment” of the US Drug Administration (FDA) which has authorized the abortion pill for more than 20 years, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
This pill was authorized by the American drug administration (FDA) more than twenty years ago and is used for more than half of the abortions carried out in the United States.
But last Friday, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, overturned the drug’s FDA approval. Soon after, a Washington judge ruled in a separate case that possible access to the abortion pill should be maintained.
The two federal court judges who voted for the increased restrictions, Kurt Engelhardt and Andrew Oldham, were appointed by Donald Trump, while the one who voted against, Catharina Haynes, was put in place by ex-President George W. Bush.
Less than an hour after Judge Kacsmaryk’s decision, fellow Judge Thomas Rice, appointed by Barack Obama and sitting in Washington State, found mifepristone to be “safe and effective” and banned the FDA to withdraw its approval in the 17 appealing states.
Meanwhile, Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration had asked this New Orleans appeals court to intervene to block Judge Kacsmaryk’s “extraordinary and unprecedented” ruling, “pending substantive review.” folder.
In its appeal, the government recalled that more than five million women have used mifepristone, combined with another tablet, since its authorization by the FDA in 2000. When it is taken correctly, serious side effects are extremely rare, pleaded- he. Joe Biden had also ruled on Tuesday that the suspension of the authorization of the abortion pill “exceeded the limits”.
The twist comes nearly a year after the conservative-dominated Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision, which had enshrined women’s abortion rights in the United States for half a century.
