In a massive win for opponents of abortion rights, a Texas judge ruled on Friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2000 approval of abortion pills was unlawful.
Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that the FDA “manipulated and misconstrued” certain parts of the drug approval process in order “to greenlight elective chemical abortions on a wide scale.” Throughout the decision, Kacsmaryk used anti-choice rhetoric including terms like “unborn child,” “chemical abortion” and “abortionist” to describe medication abortion, a safe and effective regimen used for nearly 60% of all abortion and miscarriage care in the U.S.
The ruling does not go into effect for seven days, giving the Biden administration time to appeal. Scroll below to read the decision in full.
In the first footnote of the 67-page document, Kacsmaryk explains why he believes using the term “fetus” is inaccurate while the terms “unborn human” or “unborn child” are appropriate, citing an anti-choice book titled “Embryo: A Defense of Human Life.”
“Considering the intense psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress women often experience from chemical abortion, this failure should not be overlooked or understated,” Kacsmaryk wrote in the decision.
Kacsmaryk’s statement echoes frequent claims of anti-choice advocates who believe that abortion harms women’s mental health and that many women regret their decision to get abortion care. But, according to the Turnaway Study, which followed 1,000 women over 10 years and analyzed the long-term effects of abortion access, abortion does not harm women’s mental health, and 95% of women who have abortions said their decision was the right one for them.
The Department of Justice immediately filed an appeal directly to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the Justice Department “strongly disagrees with the decision” and “will be appealing the court’s decision and seeking a stay pending appeal.”
“Today’s decision overturns the FDA’s expert judgment, rendered over two decades ago, that mifepristone is safe and effective,” Garland said. “The Department will continue to defend the FDA’s decision.”
The article continues below.
In the same hour on Friday, a federal judge in Washington state issued a competing ruling that blocked the FDA from removing mifepristone from the market in 17 states and the District of…
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