A ruling that could potentially ban mifepristone, a medication that can terminate an early pregnancy, throughout the nation has been pushed back two weeks to give one of the manufacturers time to file a briefing.
Last year, the rightwing organization Alliance Defending Freedom sued the FDA to reverse the federal approval of mifepristone, which occurred in 2000. Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit included anti-choice OB-GYN’s, and because the lawsuit was filed in Amarillo within the U.S. District Court for the Northern District Texas, it was assigned to Trump-appointed Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk.
The same judge earlier this year ruled that a federal program that provides contraception to teenagers violates federal law. Kacsmaryk was appointed by former president Trump in 2019. He is a member of the Federalist Society and was a Deputy General Counsel at the First Liberty Institute, a Christian conservative legal organization based out of Texas.
NARAL Pro-Choice America released a report with Axios that shows that 40 million women would lose access to abortion if Kacsmaryk sides with the anti-choice plaintiffs in their lawsuit against the FDA.
A longtime writer and journalist, Jessica was thrilled to join the Texas Signal where she could utilize her unique perspective on politics and culture. As the Features and Opinion Editor, she is responsible for coordinating editorials and segments from diverse authors. She is also the host of the podcast the Tex Mix, as well as the co-host for the weekly SignalCast. Jessica attended Harvard College, is a onetime fitness blogger, and has now transitioned to recreational runner (for which her joints are thankful).
