Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito issued an order on Friday that temporarily halted a Texas judge’s ruling last week suspending access to mifepristone, a drug used in a majority of U.S. abortions. The order is meant to maintain the status quo until the full court makes a decision.
Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, issued a preliminary ruling on April 7 suspending the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval for the abortion medication, while a case questioning the safety of the drug proceeds in court. (A vast body of evidence indicates that mifepristone is safe.)
The Texas ruling would block access to mifepristone even in abortion havens like New York and New Jersey. But Kacsmaryk delayed his decision from taking effect for seven days to give the Biden administration time to respond. The Department of Justice, which represents the FDA, filed a notice of appeal late on April 7.
On Wednesday, a federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled that mifepristone could remain available, but reduced the timeframe in which the pill could be used during pregnancy and banned its distribution by mail.
Hours before the restrictions were set to take effect on Friday, Justice Alito put Kacsmaryk’s order on hold until April 19, suggesting that the full court will render a decision on that date. The move, which does not indicate which direction the court will go, comes less than a year after the Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, which Alito authored.
In anticipation of the restrictions, on Tuesday Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the state would stockpile a different drug, misoprostol , which can be used for abortions and miscarriages, and is usually administered in combination with mifepristone.
