A Texas magistrate on Friday suspended the marketing authorization for mifepristone, one of the two pills required for medical abortion. US President Joe Biden has said he is determined to “fight” this decision.
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.
US President Joe Biden has said he is determined to “combat” this decision, calling it an attempt “unprecedented to deprive women of fundamental freedoms”. Ten months after 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.
A decision before the Supreme Court
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the marketing authorization for mifepristone (RU 486), which is used in combination with another cachet, could not be withdrawn in the 17 Democratic states that had seized it.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 this 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 against 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.
A strict and long procedure
“This is unprecedented and deeply damaging”commented the powerful family planning organization Planned Parenthood, which runs many clinics performing abortions in the country.
Even if justice suspends ultimately clearance from the FDA, it would probably take several months before its decision would apply. According to health law experts, the drug regulator must follow a strict procedure before withdrawing the authorization of a product. Women and doctors could also fall back on a second pill, misoprostol, the use of which is combined today with mifepristone for greater efficiency and less pain.