Dueling federal rulings leave abortion drug access in limbo…
Note: I pre-wrote this story ahead of the decision in the Texas circuit court. On the day the decision came down, I was out of town and our health reporter caught word of a different federal decision that could affect the legality of mifepristone. She updated the story with that info and got it up quickly.
A common abortion medication could very shortly be banned nationally, including in Oregon, after a decision released late Friday by a federal judge based in Texas.
A conservative group sued to overrule the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, a medication used to end a pregnancy. The drug was approved in 2000 and has proven a safe and effective way to end pregnancy when used with another medication, misoprostol.
Because the ruling overturns a federal drug approval, the medication may lack approval everywhere, regardless of a given state’s abortion laws.
However, the ruling will not go into effect for seven days, giving lawyers representing the FDA time to file an appeal.
And in a handful of states including Oregon and Washington, a second federal case may have bearing on whether or not mifepristone continues to be available…
Photo Credit: Kristyna Wentz-Graff/OPB