Michigan Democrats Outraged At Federal Judge Ruling Against Abortion Pill

A federal judge appointed by former President Trump is halting FDA approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.

On Friday, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk [[ kaz-mare-ick ]] issued a stay that will stop the prescription and distribution of the pill. A lawsuit from an anti-abortion group was filed against the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, arguing the nearly five-year approval process for the drug was rushed.

The Justice Department called Kacsmaryk’s decision “unprecedented” after it was already ruled the lawsuit was based on false claims.

Michigan Democratic lawmakers were ouraged.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer released the following statement after a ruling in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA.

“Today, an extreme federal judge in Texas who is out-of-step with the majority of Michiganders and Americans has attempted to ban mifepristone, one of the most common abortion medications that has been approved by the FDA, prescribed, and safely used for decades.

“Mifepristone gives people the freedom to choose when or how to start a family. If today’s ruling takes effect, over 64 million Americans, including millions of Michiganders, may effectively be prevented from accessing the drug.

“Despite this ruling, I want to be clear: abortion, including medication abortion, remains safe and legal in the state of Michigan.

“We must continue using every tool in our toolboxes to fight back against these relentless assaults on reproductive health care. In November, Michiganders made their voices heard at the ballot box to protect reproductive freedom, and we must ensure that their fundamental rights are protected. Let’s continue fighting like hell to make sure every Michigander has control over their own body and can start a family when and if they are ready.”

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued the following statement in response:

“I am deeply disappointed that Judge Kacsmaryk has decided in favor of those who would harm women by exacerbating our nation’s reproductive healthcare crisis, the stakes of which have only escalated in the aftermath of the fall of Roe. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine has acted in opposition to the oath which is their namesake: to first do no harm.

Furthermore, this organization, seeking the nationwide destruction of the stability of care for millions of women throughout the country, was established specifically to forum shop, ensuring the case would be assigned to a judge whose staunch opposition to reproductive freedoms is a matter of public record.

The clear shame and cowardice of this lone Texan judge, to issue his ruling well into the evening of Good Friday, speaks volumes about the integrity he assigned his judgment. This ruling, while an obvious judicial embarrassment, was cruelly timed for a moment when the government and good faith public servants would be at a disadvantage to respond in defense of the constitutional rights of all American women.

The way the courts are supposed to work, in the architecture of our judiciary, seismic, tumultuous change such as this, affecting the people across the entire nation, is not meant to fall to the judgment of one singular arbiter. The Supreme Court, where matters concerning decades of precedent ought be decided is notably nine jurists. These types of decisions were never meant to be made the way this ruling came from Northern Texas tonight.

The FDA should – consistent with Judge Rice’s order – continue, as it has for more than 20 years, to maintain its approval of the manufacture and prescription of this medication so many women rely upon for their healthcare. The current landscape, tonight, is an effective stalemate for the FDA, and until a higher court intervenes and settles the direction of healthcare and bodily autonomy in this country, the status quo must remain, and the hard-fought rights of women should remain unassailed.

The alternative, to allow the Texas ruling to prevail, would be devastating to the 24.5 million women of reproductive age who live in states with abortion bans and who would soon lose one of their final lifelines to reproductive healthcare: access to mifepristone. Women in need could soon be forced to seek riskier, more invasive abortion and miscarriage care in clinics that are, in many cases, hundreds of miles from their homes. This added burden would undoubtedly fracture along lines of socioeconomic disparity, impairing access to this care for those who may require it most desperately.

Michigan residents turned out in droves last November to enshrine the right to abortion in our state constitution. We were repeatedly told that it should be an issue of state’s rights, and so we made our voices heard. Now all of that effort could be upended by the whims of a single jurist, who sees fit in his authority to reach into the free state of Michigan and eviscerate access to the safe, reliable, medication that enables over half of all abortions and with a better safety record than some of the most used and known prescription drugs in the country. Michigan will remain a safe haven for women in our region whose home state access to reproductive healthcare has been curbed by this ruling. As always, my Department’s top priority will be to safeguard the health, safety, and wellbeing of the residents of our state.”

U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) released the following statement after a federal judge in Texas ruled against the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone.

“This ruling is dangerous and cruel. Medication abortion is a safe, widely-used form of reproductive health care that’s been available to Americans for more than 20 years. While this is a major setback, I won’t stop fighting to protect access to this essential care and every American’s right to make these extremely personal, private decisions without interference from politicians or judges.”

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Statement:

Despite a ruling today by a Texas judge attempting to force the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to withdraw its decades-long approval of a safe and effective medication used in millions of medication abortions annually; abortion, including medication abortion, remains legal and accessible in Michigan.

Michigan families still have access to abortion care, and we urge them to talk with their health care provider about medication abortion and in-clinic procedures that are available.Despite claims to the contrary in this lawsuit, medication management of abortion is safe and effective, and is used to provide more than half of all abortion care nationwide.

In Michigan, we will continue to do all we can to protect and expand access to reproductive freedom, including abortion care. We will work together to ensure nurses and doctors can do their jobs and support anyone as they make decisions about health care and their own bodies.”

Michigan Democrats Outraged At Federal Judge Ruling Against Abortion Pill

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