The Daily Citizen recently reported on U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling blocking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) approval of mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in a chemical abortion.
The ruling is set to take effect on Friday, April 14, and would block mifepristone for sale across the United States. The FDA first approved mifepristone for use in 2000.
Since the ruling, which was handed down on April 7, the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has appealed the ruling to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals – one of the more conservative courts in the nation. If the Fifth Circuit declines to put Judge Kacsmaryk’s opinion on ice, the administration is then expected to quickly appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
If Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling is upheld, it will likely save thousands of preborn babies from abortion every year.
His opinion spared no expense exposing the FDA’s flouting of the law in order to approve mifepristone.
What follows are the top five quotes from Judge Kacsmaryk’s courageous and reasonable ruling.
First up, the judge called out the FDA for avoiding judicial review of their decision for years on end.
Why did it take two decades for judicial review in federal court? … Simply put, FDA stonewalled judicial review – until now. Before Plaintiffs filed this case, FDA ignored their petitions for over sixteen years, even though the law requires an agency response within “180 days of receipt of the petition.”
Had FDA responded to the Plaintiffs’ petition within the 360 total days allotted, this case would have been in federal court decades earlier. Instead, FDA postponed and procrastinate for nearly 6,000 days (emphasis in original).
Judge Kacmaryk also recounted the myriad of harms that occur to women as a result of taking the abortion pill. He wrote:
In 2006 … Chairman Souder remarked that mifepristone was “associated with the deaths of at least 8 women, 9 life-threatening incidents, 232 hospitalizations, 116 blood transfusions, and 88 cases of infection.”
Next, Judge Kacsmaryk dismantled the FDA’s reasoning for approving mifepristone in the first place. The FDA approved the drug under its “Subpart H” regulation, which allows it to quickly approve drugs to treat “serious or life-threatening illnesses.”
However, as Judge Kacsmaryk wrote,
Pregnancy is not an “Illness.” Pregnancy is a normal physiological state most women experience one or more times during their childbearing years – a natural process essential to perpetuating human life.
In addition, the judge listed more negative side effects that frequently occur as a result of a chemical abortion. He added:
Studies show eighty-three percent of women report that chemical abortion ‘changed’ them – and seventy-seven percent of those women reported a negative change. Thirty-eight percent of women reported issues with anxiety, depression, drug abuse, and suicidal thoughts because of the chemical abortion. Bleeding from a chemical abortion, unlike surgical abortion, can last up to several weeks.
Contrary to popular belief and talking points, the evidence shows chemical abortion is not “as easy as taking Advil” (emphasis in original).
And in perhaps the most stirring, and saddening, line from Judge Kacksmaryk’s opinion, he used his ruling to remind readers that preborn babies are just that: human babies. He wrote:
One woman was surprised and saddened to see that her aborted baby “had a head, hands, and legs” with “defined fingers and toes.”
The entire abortion process takes place within the mother’s home, without physician oversight … leading to severe or even fatal consequences.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned, pro-life supporters have suffered several setbacks – losing six of six abortion-related ballot measures in 2022. Judge Kacksmaryk’s ruling represents a massive victory, for which we can all be thankful.
Judge Kacksmaryk, along with lawyers from Alliance Defending Freedom who filed and argued the lawsuit, deserve all the credit and thanks given to them.
The Daily Citizen will keep you updated of any important developments in this case.
The case is Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Related articles:
Pro-Life Victory: Federal Judge Blocks FDA’s Approval of Abortion Pill
Abortion Pill Lawsuits Aim to Block State Laws Protecting Women, Saving Preborn Babies
New Lawsuit Alleges FDA’s Approval of Chemical Abortions Violated the Law
Photo from Shutterstock.
