Washington, DC — Last night, the Fifth Circuit issued a partial stay of Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling invalidating the FDA’s approval of mifepristone.The Justice Department announced today that it would ask the U.S. Supreme Court for a full stay of the ruling. While the court’s decision does not entirely bar access to mifepristone, it dramatically restricts access to the drug. This case lays the groundwork for any judge to be able to overrule the evidence-based and scientific FDA medication approval process. The consequences of this ruling will be most detrimental for women of color, people living in rural areas, and poorer Americans who face the steepest barriers to accessing care. Watch Protect Our Care’s event with legal and public health experts discussing the dangers of Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling here. In response, Protect Our Care Communications Director Anne Shoup issued the following statement:
“Despite issuing a partial stay, the 5th Circuit is still undermining patients’ access to safe and legal abortions and threatening to throw the entire U.S. drug approval process into chaos. It not only puts at risk the use of mifepristone, but it opens the door to politically-motivated lawsuits seeking to remove or greatly restrict the availability of other safe and effective drugs. If the ruling stands, millions of patients will suffer, and the Supreme Court should issue a full stay of the district court’s decision.”