www.npr.org Open in urlscan Pro
2600:141b:f000:487::1155  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Accessibility links
 * Skip to main content
 * Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

WQLNOn Air Now
 * Hourly News
 * Listen Live
 * Playlist

 * Open Navigation Menu
 * 
 * WQLN
    * Listen LiveWQLN
    * donate
    * Change
   
   Sign in or register to see your station everywhere you enjoy NPR.

 * Sign In
 * NPR Shop
 * Donate

> Close Navigation Menu
 * Home
 * News Expand/collapse submenu for News
   * National
   * World
   * Politics
   * Business
   * Health
   * Science
   * Climate
   * Race
 * Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture
   * Books
   * Movies
   * Television
   * Pop Culture
   * Food
   * Art & Design
   * Performing Arts
   * Life Kit
 * Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music
   * Tiny Desk
   * #NowPlaying
   * All Songs Considered
   * Music Features
   * Live Sessions
 * Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows
   Daily
    * Morning Edition
    * Weekend Edition Saturday
    * Weekend Edition Sunday
    * All Things Considered
    * Fresh Air
    * Up First
   
   Featured
    * Taking Cover
    * Louder Than A Riot
    * It's Been a Minute
    * Life Kit
   
    * More Podcasts & Shows

 * Search
 * Sign In
 * NPR Shop

 * 
 * Tiny Desk
 * #NowPlaying
 * All Songs Considered
 * Music Features
 * Live Sessions

 * About NPR
 * Diversity
 * Organization
 * Support
 * Careers
 * Connect
 * Press
 * Ethics

Abortion pill access in jeopardy after judges issue conflicting rulings A
federal judge in Texas stayed the FDA's approval of the drug mifepristone, while
a federal judge in Washington state blocked any FDA change in access.


HEALTH


JUDGES' DUELING DECISIONS PUT ACCESS TO A KEY ABORTION DRUG IN JEOPARDY
NATIONWIDE

 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Flipboard
 * Email

Updated April 8, 20235:45 AM ET Originally published April 7, 20237:41 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered

Sarah McCammon

JUDGES' DUELING DECISIONS PUT ACCESS TO A KEY ABORTION DRUG IN JEOPARDY
NATIONWIDE

Listen· 3:343-Minute ListenPlaylist
Toggle more options
 * Download
 * Embed
   Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1159220452/1168770851"
   width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded
   audio player">
 * Transcript

Enlarge this image

Mifepristone is part of a two-drug protocol that a recent study showed was used
in 98% of medication abortions in 2020. Allen G. Breed/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Allen G. Breed/AP


Mifepristone is part of a two-drug protocol that a recent study showed was used
in 98% of medication abortions in 2020.

Allen G. Breed/AP

Federal judges in two states issued contradictory decisions Friday evening that
could drastically impact access to a drug used in nearly all medication
abortions in the U.S.

In Texas, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that the Food and Drug
Administration improperly approved the abortion pill mifepristone more than 20
years ago. A coalition of anti-abortion rights groups called the Alliance for
Hippocratic Medicine sued the FDA last year. The judge issued a nationwide
injunction pausing the FDA's approval, which is set to take effect in seven
days.

Within hours of that decision, U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice issued a
ruling in a separate case in Washington state. That lawsuit filed by a coalition
of Democratic attorneys general in 17 states and the District of Columbia sought
to block the FDA from pulling the drug from the market.

Rice's decision blocks the FDA from "altering the status quo and rights as it
relates to the availability of Mifepristone."

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson told NPR on Friday that he
believes the judge's ruling could make it possible for patients in those states
to continue using mifepristone for abortion in the short term — even after the
Texas decision takes effect.

Sponsor Message



"If you live in Washington State or one of the 17 states that joined Washington
in our lawsuit...then the judge's ruling in our case preserves the status quo on
ensuring that access to mifepristone remains available," Ferguson said. For the
rest, he said, "The Texas judge's ruling seriously has the potential to
eliminate that access for mifepristone here in the coming days."

Most abortions already are illegal in about a dozen of those states, including
Texas, following last summer's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
decision.

Hours after the Texas ruling, the Justice Department appealed to the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which has a reputation for being a
conservative jurisdiction. The Justice Department says it is also reviewing the
decision in Washington state.


HEALTH CARE


FEDERAL JUDGE IN TEXAS HEARS CASE THAT COULD FORCE A MAJOR ABORTION PILL OFF
MARKET

President Biden said the ruling in Texas could have widespread consequences. "If
this ruling were to stand, then there will be virtually no prescription,
approved by the FDA, that would be safe from these kinds of political,
ideological attacks," the president said in a statement.

"It is the next big step toward the national ban on abortion that Republican
elected officials have vowed to make law in America," Biden added.

He said that the administration would fight the ruling, noting, "The Department
of Justice has already filed an appeal and will seek an immediate stay of the
decision."



Anti-abortion rights groups hailed the Texas decision. "By illegally approving
dangerous chemical abortion drugs, the FDA put women and girls in harm's way,
and it's high time the agency is held accountable for its reckless actions,"
Erik Baptist, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a
statement.

Mifepristone was approved by the FDA in 2000 for use in combination with a
second drug, misoprostol. More than half of all abortions in the United States
are done using medication, as opposed to a surgical procedure, and the two-drug
combination was used for 98% of them in 2020, according to the Guttmacher
Institute.

Major medical groups say mifepristone, which is also used in miscarriage
management, has a well-established safety record and have been calling for
relaxing restrictions on its use for years.


POLITICS


WHY AN ULCER DRUG COULD BE THE LAST OPTION FOR MANY ABORTION PATIENTS

In its lawsuit, the coalition of abortion rights opponents said the protocol was
improperly approved by the FDA. The group had asked Kacsmaryk, who was appointed
by President Trump and has longstanding ties to conservative religious groups,
to overturn the approval.

The decision in that lawsuit comes three weeks after Kacsmaryk held a hearing in
Amarillo in a courtroom that had room for only a few dozen members of the public
and the press. No recording or public livestreaming was permitted.


NATIONWIDE IMPLICATIONS


NATIONAL


READ THE TRANSCRIPT: WHAT HAPPENED INSIDE THE FEDERAL HEARING ON ABORTION PILLS

Abortion providers nationwide say they've been preparing to rely on another
medication abortion regimen using misoprostol alone. Misoprostol is prescribed
primarily for ulcers, and is already widely used off-label for other
gynecological purposes in the United States.

Research suggests the single-drug regimen is somewhat less effective and often
causes additional side effects. But the World Health Organization says the
method, which has been used internationally for decades, can be safe and
effective at the appropriate dosage.

The decision likely will mean uncertainty and confusion for doctors and
patients, says Farah Diaz-Tello, senior counsel with the reproductive rights
legal advocacy group If/When/How.



"People who are seeking an abortion with pills ... are going to find it much
more difficult to do so, especially in the time period as providers figure out
what they're going to be able to do," she says. "So I think we're going to see
an immediate exacerbation of the crisis of access that already started in June
of 2022" with the U.S. Supreme Court decision last year in Dobbs v. Jackson
Women's Health Organization, which overturned decades of abortion-rights
precedent.

Diaz-Tello predicts more people will look to induce their own abortions without
medical supervision, using medications obtained online or in other countries.
She also worries about the risk of increased scrutiny of patients seeking
medical care for emergency complications from either self-managed abortions or
miscarriages.


NATIONAL


DEMOCRATIC STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL SUE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OVER ABORTION PILL
RULES

She says there are no state laws to her knowledge that require healthcare
providers to turn in patients suspected of inducing an abortion, but she worries
the ruling will fuel confusion and misinformation.

"I am worried that ... that is going to translate into a misunderstanding that
is going to lead to the criminalization of people who end their pregnancies,"
Diaz-Tello says.


DUELING DECISIONS

The implications of the Texas ruling is complicated by the outcome of the
Washington state lawsuit.

Prior to the rulings being issued, Amanda Allen, senior counsel and director for
the The Lawyering Project, which supports abortion rights, told NPR that the
prospect of "two very conflicting orders" from federal courts "could impose very
different obligations on the FDA that would be very untenable for the FDA to try
to reconcile."

Allen said the FDA could decide to issue guidance for prescribers about how to
interpret the rulings. But she says such a conflict between the federal courts
might well end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Lawyers and advocates on both sides of the case say it is likely to move quickly
through the federal appeals process.



"Everyone's eyes are now kind of pointed back towards D.C.," said Katie Glenn
Daniel, state policy director with Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. "We
anticipate that eventually, whether it's the merits of this case, or these
injunctions — now dueling injunctions — that the Supreme Court will have to
weigh in in some way."

 * mifepristone
 * misoprostol
 * Abortion rights
 * Supreme Court

 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Flipboard
 * Email






MORE STORIES FROM NPR

HEALTH

MORE POLLEN, MORE ALLERGIES: EXPOSURE THERAPY IN SEVERAL FORMS TREATS SYMPTOMS

POLITICS

HOW A NEW MAJORITY ON WISCONSIN'S SUPREME COURT COULD IMPACT REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

HEALTH

CLINICS OFFERING ABORTIONS FACE A RISE IN THREATS, VIOLENCE AND LEGAL BATTLES

HEALTH

FDA PULLS THE ONLY APPROVED DRUG FOR PREVENTING PREMATURE BIRTH OFF THE MARKET

HEALTH

A GOOD FRIDAY FUNERAL IN TEXAS. BABY HALO'S PARENTS HAD FEW CHOICES IN POST-ROE
TEXAS

GLOBAL HEALTH

TEENS, TRUST AND THE ETHICS OF CHATGPT: A BOLD WISH LIST FOR WHO AS IT TURNS 75


POPULAR ON NPR.ORG

TECHNOLOGY

ELON MUSK SAYS NPR'S 'STATE-AFFILIATED MEDIA' LABEL MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN ACCURATE

POLITICS

TENNESSEE HOUSE VOTES TO EXPEL 2 OF 3 DEMOCRATIC MEMBERS OVER GUN PROTEST

LAW

JUSTICE THOMAS EXPLAINS WHY HE DIDN'T REPORT TRIPS PAID FOR BY BILLIONAIRE

NATIONAL

A UTAH ICE CLIMBER WAS KILLED BY FALLING ICE AFTER SAVING HER FRIEND'S LIFE

NATIONAL SECURITY

TOP-SECRET PENTAGON DOCUMENTS ON UKRAINE WAR APPEAR ON SOCIAL MEDIA

MOVIES

3 NEW STAR WARS LIVE-ACTION FILMS ARE COMING


NPR EDITORS' PICKS

POLITICS

TRUMP WASN'T PUT UNDER A GAG ORDER, BUT HE WAS TOLD TO WATCH HIS WORDS

NATIONAL

A CALIFORNIA BILL WOULD CREATE AN ALERT SYSTEM FOR MISSING BLACK WOMEN AND YOUTH

ASIA

CHINA FLIES FIGHTER JETS NEAR TAIWAN AFTER THE LEADER'S TRIP TO THE U.S.

YOUR MONEY

DEAR LK: MY BOYFRIEND'S PARENTS PAY FOR EVERYTHING. IT MAKES ME UNCOMFORTABLE

POP CULTURE

WHAT'S MAKING US HAPPY: A GUIDE TO YOUR WEEKEND READING, LISTENING AND VIEWING

CLIMATE

WHY CALIFORNIA'S FLOODS MAY BE 'ONLY A TASTE' OF WHAT'S TO COME IN A WARMER
WORLD



READ & LISTEN

 * Home
 * News
 * Culture
 * Music
 * Podcasts & Shows

CONNECT

 * Newsletters
 * Facebook
 * Twitter
 * Instagram
 * Press
 * Contact & Help

ABOUT NPR

 * Overview
 * Diversity
 * Accessibility
 * Ethics
 * Finances
 * Public Editor
 * Corrections

GET INVOLVED

 * Support Public Radio
 * Sponsor NPR
 * NPR Careers
 * NPR Shop
 * NPR Events
 * NPR Extra

 * Terms of Use
 * Privacy
 * Your Privacy Choices
 * Text Only
 * © 2023 npr




Sponsor Message

Become an NPR sponsor





COOKIE SETTINGS

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect
information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or
your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to
provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow
certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the
services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find
out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You may
opt out of the sharing of your information with our sponsorship vendors for
delivery of personalized sponsorship credits and marketing messages on our
website or third-party sites by turning off "Share Data for Targeted
Sponsorship" below. If you opt out, our service providers or vendors may
continue to serve you non-personalized, non-"interest-based" sponsorship credits
and marketing messages on our website or third-party sites, and those
sponsorship credits and marketing message may come with cookies that are used to
control how often you encounter those credits and messages, to prevent fraud,
and to do aggregate reporting. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly
Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning
of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your
settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For
more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this
link.
Allow All


MANAGE CONSENT PREFERENCES

STRICTLY NECESSARY OR ESSENTIAL COOKIES

Always Active

These cookies are essential to provide you with services available through the
NPR Services and to enable you to use some of their features. These cookies are
necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems.
They are usually set in response to actions made by you that amount to a request
for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling
in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies,
but some parts of the site will not then work. Without these cookies, the
services that you have asked for cannot be provided, and we only use these
cookies to provide you with those services.

SHARE DATA FOR TARGETED SPONSORSHIP

Share Data for Targeted Sponsorship

You may opt out of the sharing of your information with our sponsorship vendors
for delivery of personalized sponsorship credits and marketing messages on our
website or third-party sites by turning off "Share Data for Targeted
Sponsorship." If you opt out, our service providers or vendors may continue to
serve you non-personalized, non-"interest-based" sponsorship credits and
marketing messages on our website or third-party sites, and those sponsorship
credits and marketing message may come with cookies that are used to control how
often you encounter those credits and messages, to prevent fraud, and to do
aggregate reporting.

 * PERFORMANCE AND ANALYTICS COOKIES
   
   Switch Label
   
   These cookies are used to collect information about traffic to our Services
   and how users interact with the NPR Services. The information collected
   includes the number of visitors to the NPR Services, the websites that
   referred visitors to the NPR Services, the pages that they visited on the NPR
   Services, what time of day they visited the NPR Services, whether they have
   visited the NPR Services before, and other similar information. We use this
   information to help operate the NPR Services more efficiently, to gather
   broad demographic information and to monitor the level of activity on the NPR
   Services. NPR's third-party service providers that measure and analyze the
   use of the NPR Services for NPR also use their own cookies. NPR's third-party
   analytics service providers use cookies across multiple sites to collect
   visitor data (such as data related to age, gender and visitor interests).

 * FUNCTIONAL COOKIES
   
   Switch Label
   
   These cookies allow NPR Services to remember choices you make when you use
   them, such as remembering your Member station preferences and remembering
   your account details. The purpose of these cookies is to provide you with a
   more personal experience and to avoid you having to re-enter your preferences
   every time you visit the NPR Services. They may be set by us or by third
   party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not
   allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function
   properly.

 * TARGETING AND SPONSOR COOKIES
   
   Switch Label
   
   These cookies track your browsing habits or other information, such as
   location, to enable us to show sponsorship credits which are more likely to
   be of interest to you. These cookies use information about your browsing
   history to group you with other users who have similar interests. Based on
   that information, and with our permission, we and our sponsors can place
   cookies to enable us or our sponsors to show sponsorship credits and other
   messages that we think will be relevant to your interests while you are using
   third-party services. NPR works with third-party vendors that may serve
   sponsorship credits or other messages to you on other websites after you
   visit the NPR Services. These third-party vendors use their own cookies to
   recognize you as an NPR Services visitor and to serve you sponsorship credits
   or other messages on other websites that they believe you will find most
   relevant. If you do not allow these cookies, you may still receive
   sponsorship or marketing messages, but they may not be targeted to your
   interests.

Back Button


PERFORMANCE COOKIES



Search Icon
Filter Icon

Clear
checkbox label label
Apply Cancel
Consent Leg.Interest
checkbox label label
checkbox label label
checkbox label label

Confirm My Choices