Federal Appeals Court Hears Arguments on Abortion Pill Ban Case

(CTN News) – On Wednesday, lawyers for both sides in a case that could have far-reaching consequences for abortion access in the United States will present oral arguments before a federal appeals court in New Orleans.

Biden Administration Urges Overturning of Mifepristone FDA Suspension

The Biden administration will petition a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s historic order last month blocking FDA approval of mifepristone in Amarillo, Texas. The manufacturer of Mifeprex, Danco Laboratories, is also slated to present their case before the panel.

Since the Supreme Court’s June 2022 rejection of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which had legalized abortion statewide, Republican-led states have adopted several abortion bans and restrictions; the Biden administration is attempting to defend mifepristone against these measures.

Anti-Abortion Groups Defend Suspension of Mifepristone Approval

The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, a collection of anti-abortion doctors and activists, has vowed to defend Kacsmaryk’s directive. In a complaint filed last year, they alleged that the FDA’s clearance of mifepristone nearly two decades ago violated the law because it was hazardous.

The government is anticipated to argue that mifepristone’s safety is supported by decades of evidence and real-world use and that the plaintiffs lack standing to bring the lawsuit because the drug’s approval does not injure them.

The plaintiffs knew that by bringing their case before Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, a conservative and former Christian activist, and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, also conservative, they had a good chance of winning. Currently, 16 judges are serving on the circuit, and 12 of them were chosen by Republican presidents.

The three judges who will hear the case on Wednesday are all deeply conservative and have consistently ruled against abortion rights.

The United States Supreme Court issued an immediate order stating Kacsmaryk’s order pending an appeal. Therefore, mifepristone is still legally available for the time being.

More than half of all abortions in the United States are performed using medicine, and mifepristone is one-half of the two-drug combination that also includes misoprostol. The first 10 weeks of pregnancy are safe for its use.

The medicine has been proven safe and effective by numerous scientific investigations.

In court documents, major medical groups argued that removing mifepristone from the market will cause harm to patients by requiring them to undergo more intrusive surgical abortions.

Divided Support: AMA, ACOG, and Democrats Back Administration

These groups include the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG) and the American Medical Association (AMA).

Furthermore, pharma industry groups have voiced concern that opening up all FDA approvals to judicial review might impede the development of new medicines.

Many groups and individuals, such as Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, have filed “friend of the court” filings supporting the defendants in this case.

Anti-abortion groups and Republicans have supported the plaintiffs, while the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have supported the administration.

Regardless of the result made by the 5th Circuit panel, an appeal will be filed with the whole court and subsequently with the Supreme Court of the United States.