A U.S. appeals court overturned Kasmarik’s order banning the abortion pill

A US appeals court has suspended an order issued by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kasmarik in Texas effectively banning the abortion drug Mifepristone.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that the abortion pill Mifepristone will remain available for now, but with significant restrictions.

You can get the drug after a personal visit to a doctor and only up to the 7th week of pregnancy, Reuters reports.

Earlier, federal judge Matthew Kasmarik suspended the approval of the drug by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

However, within an hour, another federal judge in Washington issued a contrary ruling, according to which “Mifepristone” should be available in 17 states.

What happened?

Federal Judge Matthew Kasmarik, appointed by former US President Donald Trump, suspended the approval of Mifepristone by the FDA on April 7. (On the same day, another federal judge ruled to the contrary, ordering the FDA to maintain access to Mifepristone without new restrictions in 17 states and the District of Columbia.)

Kasmarik temporarily revoked Mifepristone’s approval while he considers a lawsuit from abortion opponents seeking a ban on the drug.

In November, a lawsuit was filed against the FDA by 4 medical associations and anti-abortion doctors. They say the agency used the wrong procedure when it approved the drug in 2000 and failed to adequately consider its safety for girls under 18 who use it to terminate pregnancies.

A federal judge responded that the FDA’s approval of the drug violated federal rules allowing for accelerated approval of certain drugs, and the agency failed to take into account the “psychological effects” of mifepristone use.

The Biden administration and Mifepristone manufacturer Danco Laboratories immediately appealed the order. More than 300 heads of biotechnological and pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer and Biogen, also called for the court’s decision to be overturned.

On April 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals temporarily suspended the de facto ban on Mifepristone, but did not block the parts of Kasmarik’s order that reinstate restrictions on the pill’s distribution that had been lifted since 2016.

To get Mifepristone, you must see a doctor, and the drug can be used up to 7 weeks of pregnancy, not up to 10, as it was.

The emergency stay on Kasmarik’s order is to remain in effect until the 5th Circuit Court hears the full appeal of the Biden administration.

The appeal may be considered by another court. Both sides can also immediately appeal to the US Supreme Court.

Read also: Access to abortion pills in the US is at risk after the court ruling: what is happening