Abortion

Texas Judge to Consider Banning Abortion Pill in US

MAR 15 2023·Updated MAR 31 2023

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Image credit: nbc

The Facts

US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk is set to hear arguments on Wednesday over whether mifepristone, an abortion pill, should be banned nationwide. The pill was granted approval over two decades ago.
Reuters
When used with a second pill the drug is the most common method of abortion in the US. Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former-Pres. Trump, will hear arguments in Amarillo from the Alliance for Defending Freedom — a pro-life Christian group — on behalf of several anti-abortion groups and physicians.
The Associated Press
The group claims that the FDA exceeded its regulatory authority in approving the drug and has removed acceptable safeguards surrounding its distribution and use. These include dosage and route of administration amendments in 2016 as well as lifting an in-person dispensing requirement allowing pills to be mailed in 2021.
CBS News
Lawyers from the Dept. of Justice, the producer of mifepristone, as well as the challenging group, will be present to make their arguments. Anonymous sources have claimed that Kacsmaryk delayed placing the hearing on the public docket until late the evening before to minimize disruptions and possible protests.
The Texas Tribune
The Biden admin. has argued that the challenging group doesn't have the legal standing to bring the lawsuit. Medication-based abortion is currently legal in 22 states (15 of which must be prescribed by a doctor) as well as in Washington, DC.
NBC

Sources Split

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CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

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ESTAB

The Spin

Left narrative

The Texas lawsuit is weak, as mifepristone has been proven safe and effective for years. The drug, if anything, has been overly regulated since its approval in 2000. The attempt to ban its use highlights the extreme and dangerous lengths that anti-abortion activists will go to attack civil rights. In a post-Roe v. Wade world, such assaults on abortion will continue unless states and Congress take a stand.

Los Angeles Times

Right narrative

While mifepristone has been advertised and sold to women as a fundamental need, in reality, the drug is a synthetic steroid that causes healthy reproductive systems to malfunction. With deadly infection risks and daunting adverse effects, it is little wonder that the Texas lawsuit is questioning the legitimacy of the FDA's approval.

The Western Journal