In a hilarious turn of events, the U.S. government has seriously asked an appeals court to pause the merry-go-round of a Texas federal judge’s recent ruling, which blocks the nation’s most popular abortion pill. If this legal dance isn’t your jam, don’t worry! The Biden administration just wants more time to challenge the decision, so everybody can catch their breath.
The Justice Department filed a motion late Tuesday to request a tango with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. They want them to say by Thursday at noon whether they will put the lower court’s ruling on pause, allowing the pill to stay on the market temporarily while the legal proceedings continue to whirl.
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The anti-abortion group, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (who probably don’t walk around with giant hypo needles), argued that any delay in blocking access to the pill would “perpetuate substantial harm on the public” just as a romantic comedy does, I’m sure. In this group’s script, they claim that the FDA acted unlawfully in approving the medication, and that the agency has “put politics above women’s health, demonstrating a callous disregard for women’s well-being, unborn life, and statutory limits.” This must be a dark comedy.
President Biden stepped onto the stage and said that if this ruling which blocks access to the pill is allowed to stand, “there will be virtually no prescription, approved by the FDA, that would be safe from these kinds of political, ideological attacks.” It looks like a scene straight out of a political drama.
The plot thickens: medication-induced abortions typically use mifepristone in a duet with a second medication, misoprostol. The former induces an abortion and the latter prompts contractions that expel the embryo or fetus. After the Texas court’s ruling, abortion providers have scrambled like headless chickens to figure out if they should perform abortions using only misoprostol, which is less effective than using the two drugs together. It’s like trying to dance with one leg.
As the entertainment continues, a Justice Department representative is unavailable for comment. Could it be stage fright? Grab your popcorn, folks: Perry Stein, Rachel Roubein, Ann E. Marimow, and Caroline Kitchener all contributed to the unfolding dramatic saga.