The US Justice Department is attempting to persuade a federal appeals court or possibly the US Supreme Court to put on hold a judge’s decision halting the government’s approval of the abortion medication mifepristone, which is used in more than half of all abortions carried out in the United States.
Experts in the field of law argue that the Food and Drug Administration of the United States may continue to provide access to the medication even if those legal actions fail and the ruling of US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk from last Friday in Amarillo, Texas, which disapproves the medication, takes effect.
A separate federal judge in Washington state issued an order minutes later on Friday prohibiting the FDA from altering mifepristone availability. The FDA is in charge of safeguarding public health by ensuring drugs are safe, effective, and secure.
Experts stated that the FDA may use the contradictory rulings to declare that drug companies and physicians will not face legal risks for making or prescribing mifepristone while the government’s appeal proceeds.
According to Rachel Rebouche, dean of the Temple University Beasley School of Law, one way the FDA could comply with this is to do nothing and use its enforcement discretion to state that they cannot satisfy both judgments.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the power to sue drug manufacturers who fail to remove unapproved medications from the market.
However, the organization is also required to make the best use of its resources, and it has a history of delaying action when the public is not at risk. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has estimated that thousands of illegal drug products, including those that were available prior to the 1938 passage of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, are being sold without FDA approval.
