Republican lawmakers urging Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold injunction against abortion pill mifepristone
By Chris Pandolfo | Fox News
A group of 69 Republican lawmakers are asking a federal appeals court to uphold the injunction issued by a Texas judge last week that would halt the Food and Drug Administration’s more than two-decade old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.
In court documents filed Tuesday, the GOP members of Congress write that they are “committed to protecting women and girls from the harms of the abortion industry.” They assert FDA approval of medication abortions, which they call chemical abortions, was “unlawful.”
“By approving and deregulating chemical abortion drugs, the FDA has not followed Congress’ statutorily prescribed drug approval process and has subverted Congress’ critical public policy interests in upholding patient welfare,” the Republicans argue. “The FDA’s lawless actions ultimately endanger women and girls seeking chemical abortions.”
The brief was led by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas. It comes in response to 240 congressional Democrats that asked the 5th Circuit to overturn the injunction.
Last week, in an unprecedented and highly controversial decision, Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk issued an injunction against the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, a popular drug used in more than half of all abortions in the U.S. The Biden administration quickly filed an appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mifepristone, under the brand name Mifeprex, is part of a two-drug regimen that first blocks hormones needed to keep an unborn baby alive and then causes cramps and contractions to expel the dead fetus from the mother’s womb.
The drug was approved by the FDA in 2000. Since then, medication abortions have grown in popularity and now make up nearly 60% of all abortions in the United States. More than five million women in the United States have used mifepristone to abort their pregnancies, according to the drug’s manufacturer. ‘Its own interests’
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