President Joe Biden criticized the decision of a Texas federal judge to reject an abortion pill approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), describing it as a “political, ideological” attack.
On Friday (April 7), Biden released a statement claiming the court had replaced the FDA’s expert opinion with its decision, noting that the FDA was the expert on drug approval.
The abortion pill the judge rejected, Mifepristone, has been available for over 22 years and has been used safely and effectively by millions of women in the United States and worldwide.
Decrying the decision, Biden suggested that if the ruling stands, there would be no FDA-approved prescription immune to such – “political and ideological attacks.”
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, ruled that the FDA improperly expedited the pill’s approval process, violating federal standards and allowing the drug to remain on the market.
In 2000, following a four-year approval process, the pills were placed on the market and have been used to conduct abortions up to 10 weeks of pregnancy and to treat an early miscarriage.
Most abortions in the United States are performed through medication rather than a procedure, with
Mifepristone being one of the two drugs used for medical abortion in the U.S.
Kacsmaryk gave the federal government time to file an appeal and apply for an emergency stay before the decision took effect, which the Biden administration will be pursuing.
In the statement, Biden noted that the lawsuit and ruling is another “unprecedented” step in taking away women’s basic freedoms and risking their health.
The President added that if the decision is upheld, it will limit women’s access to abortion nationwide, even in states where the procedure has been legal since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
