A federal judge offered, on Friday April 7, another resounding victory to opponents of abortion in the United States, by withdrawing the authorization to market an abortion pill approved for more than 20 years and used every year. by half a million American women.
President Joe Biden immediately said he was determined to “combat” this decision, calling it an attempt “unprecedented to deprive women of fundamental freedoms”.
Ten months following the Supreme Court’s historic ruling which gave each American state the freedom to ban abortions on its soil, magistrate Matthew Kacsmaryk, known for his ultra-conservative views, issued, from Texas, a decision supposed to apply to the whole country.
At the same time, one of his colleagues, located in the State of Washington, however judged that the marketing authorization for mifepristone (RU 486), which is used in combination with another cachet, might not be withdrawn in the 17 Democratic states that had seized it.
It will therefore quickly be up to the Supreme Court, profoundly overhauled by former Republican President Donald Trump, to clarify the situation.
Judge Kacsmaryk’s decision will not apply for a week anyway, the magistrate having chosen to give the federal government time to appeal. Which shouldn’t take long.
“The Ministry of Justice strongly disagrees” with the decision, “he will appeal (…) and ask for a reprieve in the meantime”Minister Merrick Garland said in a statement.
In his 67-page judgment, Judge Kacsmaryk validates most of the arguments contained in the complaint filed in November by a coalition of doctors and organizations hostile to abortion once morest the American Medicines Agency (FDA).
Like them, he resumes studies on the risks attributed to the abortion pill, although they are considered negligible by the majority of the scientific community. He also accuses the FDA of failing to follow its procedures in order to meet a political objective.
“There is evidence indicating that the FDA faced intense political pressure to waive its safety precautions in order to promote the political goal of expanding access to abortion”he writes in particular.
“Ashamed”
“This is unprecedented and deeply damaging”commented the powerful family planning organization Planned Parenthood, which runs many clinics performing abortions in the country.
“We should all be outraged that a judge can unilaterally reject medical evidence” to contradict the FDA, added its president Alexis McGill Johnson, pointing out that this decision might have consequences “far beyond abortion”.
Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris also lambasted “an unprecedented decision that threatens women’s rights across the country” and worried regarding the implications for other cancer or diabetes drugs.
The elected Democrats in Congress, for their part, focused their criticism on Judge Kacsmaryk: “an extremist judge” for their former leader of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, a “rogue judge” for his successor Hakeem Jeffries.
Appointed by Donald Trump, Matthew Kacsmaryk was a lawyer for a Christian organization before taking office in Amarillo, Texas, where he is the only federal judge. By filing a complaint in this city, the opponents of abortion were certain that the case would come back to him.
Friday, they did not hide their joy. The SBA Prolife America group hailed “a victory for the health and safety of women and girls”. Its director of political affairs, Katie Glenn, clarified “analyze closely” the second judgment, “but we are optimistic that the dangerous disregard for women’s lives displayed by the FDA for two decades will soon be corrected”.
Even if justice ultimately suspended the FDA’s authorization, it would probably take several months before its decision applies. According to health law experts, the drug regulator must follow a strict procedure before withdrawing the authorization of a product.
Women and doctors might also fall back on a second pill, misoprostol, the use of which is combined today with mifepristone for greater efficiency and less pain.
“We will not let this unfair decision prevent access to abortion pills”here away “alternative routes”, will be able “always arrive in your mailboxes”has already indicated Elisa Wells, founder of the Plan C network of information on abortion pills.
