White House, Dept. of Justice Plan Response to Abortion Pill Ruling

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Facts

• On Monday, the US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) initiated a request in a federal appeals court to block last week's ruling from a Texas federal judge that would restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone.¹
• This comes as US Sec. of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra said Sunday that 'everything is on the table,' responding to a Texas federal judge’s ruling to suspend the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone.²
• Kacsmaryk’s decision, considered to be the first time a single judge overruled the medical authority of the FDA, gives the Biden admin. seven days to appeal before the temporary ban goes into effect. The Texas plaintiffs, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, allege the FDA was wrong to approve the drug more than 20 years ago.³
• Sec. Becerra also touted the safety of the drug, something Judge Kacsmaryk questioned in his ruling. However, he did not detail any tangible preparations the administration would take to secure access to abortion should the drug no longer be available.²
• Though Kacsmaryk's ruling gave the government a week to appeal the decision, the Biden admin. is asking to extend that pause 'to enable the government to seek relief in the Supreme Court if necessary.'⁴
• The FDA, which places special restrictions on mifepristone under a safety program to minimize the risk of drugs that could be dangerous, began allowing certified retail pharmacies to dispense the abortion pill in January.⁵

Sources: ¹NBC, ²CNN, ³Al Jazeera, ⁴The hill and ⁵FOX News.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Slate. This is one of the most lawless acts by a federal judge in US history. This decision not only breaches the scope of the judiciary but also has the potential to impose 'fetal personhood' laws nationwide, effectively banning abortions even in states that uphold a woman's right to reproductive autonomy. This is unconstitutional, immoral, and must be overturned.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Washington examiner. Critics of this decision are purposefully ignoring the procedural arguments made in Judge Kacsmaryk's ruling. He isn't banning the abortion pill for political reasons but rather due to the FDA's failure 20 years ago to test the drug on girls under 18 or evaluate the psychological or long-term medical consequences of the pill. The FDA's approval was politically motivated, not Judge Kacsmaryk's legal decision.

Predictions