Democrat Lawmakers Gain a GOP Ally in Battle Over Abortion Pill

Two Democratic lawmakers and one Republican are urging the Biden administration to ignore a court ruling that blocked the use of the drug mifepristone, which is commonly used to induce abortion in the early stages of pregnancy.

On April 7, the same day that a federal judge in Texas banned the use of the abortion pill, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued a statement saying that he believes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the authority to ignore the ruling.

The judge, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, had ruled that FDA approval of the drug more than 20 years ago was invalid because it was improperly done.

“Here, FDA acquiesced on its legitimate safety concerns—in violation of its statutory duty—based on plainly unsound reasoning and studies that did not support its conclusions,” Kacsmaryk wrote.

Despite being from different parties, Wyden and Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (Pa.) are united in their view that the FDA should ignore Judge Kacsmaryk’s order, as the agency has the right to make its own decisions even in the face of a court ruling.

Mace identifies as pro-life, but believes that her party should respect the views of Americans, the majority of whom favor allowing abortion under some circumstances.

“This is an issue that Republicans have been largely on the wrong side of, we have over the last nine months not shown compassion towards women,” Mace said.

Kacsmaryk stayed his ruling for one week to give the Department of Justice an opportunity to appeal the decision, but Wyden and some other lawmakers believe that the FDA should continue to make mifepristone accessible to women across America regardless of the judge’s decision.