There is significant uncertainty about how Kacsmaryk’s decision will affect the legality of mifepristone if his decision is not blocked by the 5th Circuit or the Supreme Court.
Just 20 minutes after Kacsymaryk issued his ruling Friday, another federal judge, Thomas Rice of the Eastern District of Washington, barred the FDA from “altering the status quo and rights as it relates to the availability of mifepristone” in the District of Columbia and 17 states that had sued to keep the medication on the market in their jurisdictions.
The Department of Justice has asked Rice to clarify how the FDA should respond to his ruling if Kacsmaryk’s decision goes into effect, noting that the Washington state ruling appears to be in “significant tension” with the decision by Kacsmaryk.
The DOJ asked Rice to respond to that query by Friday.
Some 53% of adults in the U.S. believe medication abortion should be legal in their state, while about 22% say it should be illegal and 24% are unsure, according to a poll published by the Pew Research Center on Tuesday. The poll was conducted before Kacsmaryk’s ruling.
Kacsmaryk’s decision does not affect the availability of misoprostol, which the World Health Organization recommends as a standalone abortion drug.
States such as California are stockpiling misoprostol in the event that Kacsmaryk’s decision goes into effect.
In addition to the District of Columbia, the states that filed Monday’s brief to the 5th Circuit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/11/abortion-texas-mifepristone-ruling-order-threatens-access.html