This past Friday, a U.S. district judge issued an injunction that would block the production of mifepristone — one of two drugs used for medicated abortion. Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2017, ruled that the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug was invalid but allowed the federal government to appeal. 

The Biden administration did so, and the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that key aspects of the ruling will be invalidated. However, prescriptions of mifepristone will be limited for those pregnant at seven weeks — instead of ten weeks — and will be banned from being prescribed by telehealth or transported via mail. 

The 46-year-old judge has a long history of anti-abortion sentiment. Kacsmaryk cited the archaic Comstock Act, a federal law from 1873 that made it illegal to send contraceptives through the U.S. Postal Service. 

Mifepristone, which has been used in more than half of all abortions since its approval in 2000, is prescribed in concert with a similar drug, misoprostol, to terminate a pregnancy in the early stages of gestation — typically up to 10-12 weeks. 

Misoprostol can be used on its own to end a pregnancy but will cause more side-effects such as low-grade fevers and chills. Mifepristone has been used by millions of women since it was greenlit by the FDA in 2000 and is incredibly safe for the consumption of pregnant people. 

Kacsmaryk’s ruling is rife with errors on the so-called dangers of medicated abortion and the use of a district court ruling to subvert FDA approval is unheard of. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the nation’s biggest pharmaceutical lobbying firm, released a tepid statement in response to the ruling. 

Complicating the matter, an Obama-appointed judge issued a ruling the same day that prevents the FDA from limiting access to medicated abortion in a dozen states. 

Mifepristone is used in 53 percent of U.S. abortions, and has been studied for safety and effectiveness for more than 20 years; in 2019, the FDA approved a generic version.

As of June 2022, about 5.6 million women in the U.S. had used the medication to end a pregnancy. Of those, the FDA reported 28 deaths from any cause, which represents 0.0005% of people who took mifepristone.