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Our Statement on the Ruling Against Mifepristone
On Friday, April 7, 2023, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction on the Food and Drug Administration’s (F.D.A.)’s twenty-three-year-old approval of Mifepristone, also known as Mifeprex, as a safe and effective form of medication abortion.
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In this case, the federal judge’s order enjoins or suspends the F.D.A.’s 2000 approval of Mifeprex even though more than three decades of research and clinical trials indicate that Mifeprex, when taken with Misoprostol as prescribed, is a safe and effective means to terminate a pregnancy.
Judge Kacsmaryk decision has many ramifications.
First and foremost, this Texas judge’s decision would mean that the distribution of Mifepristone will cease in all states, including Georgia, where Mifepristone is legal. Second, the decision will affect millions of women who rely on a two-prong medication: - mifepristone and misoprostol. Third, this decision limits access to mifepristone for the next four days.
Thankfully, there is another option for medication abortion in Georgia.
Misoprostol is still a form of safe and effective medication abortion available in Georgia until the injunction is lifted by Judge Kacsmaryk or the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Misoprostol which is normally take 24 to 48 hours after Mifepristone, has been the only medication on the market to terminate pregnancy long before Mifepristone. While the mifepristone-misoprostol combination are slightly more effective, Misoprostol can be used to effectively terminate a pregnancy.
Judge Kacsmaryk’s decision is not just.
The decision by Judge Kacsmaryk is part of a coordinated attack by anti-abortion groups to criminalize abortion across the nation. The lawsuit was filed by a newly formed organization in a state where abortion, including medication abortion, are already illegal. The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in Judge Kacsmaryk’s district, knowing that he has written many statements opposing abortion. The judge took a bite at the apple and issued an order replete with anti-abortion rhetoric. The Department of Justice representing the interests of the F.D.A. filed an appeal of Judge Kacsmaryk’s decision to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.
One the same day, U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice of the Eastern District of Washington issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the F.D.A. from placing any further restrictions on the distribution and use of mifepristone.
The ruling ensures access to medication abortion in the 17 states and the District of Columbia that filed the lawsuit. Georgia, which is awaiting a ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court on Georgia’s six week ban on abortion, was not a party to the Washington lawsuit. Given that two federal court’s issued decisions with very distinct outcomes, both matters are headed federal appellate courts and then the U.S. Supreme Court.
SisterLove supports the right of women, girls, and gender expansive groups to choose their own path, whether it be to give birth to a child or to terminate a pregnancy.
We will continue to stand firm for sexual reproductive justice. We stand strong with all women and will continue to fight for a system that protects the right bodily autonomy.
