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Biden administration takes abortion pill fight to Supreme Court
The US Justice Department filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court on Friday to fight restrictions on a widely used abortion pill in the latest round of an intense battle over reproductive rights.
The move comes a day after Florida became the latest US state to severely curtail access to abortion -- in the wake of last year's Supreme Court ruling that ended the constitutional right nationwide.
Taking the fight back to the nation's highest court, the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden urged it to freeze recent rulings that would ban or impose limits on use of the drug mifepristone -- which accounts for more than half of all abortions in the United States.
"The lower courts' orders will upend the status quo and scramble the complex regulatory regime governing mifepristone," Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said in a 47-page filing.
"That disruptive result would profoundly harm women, the nation's healthcare system, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), and the public interest."
A federal judge in Texas, Matthew Kacsmaryk ordered a nationwide ban last week on mifepristone, which was approved by the FDA in 2000, in response to a suit by a coalition of anti-abortion groups.
On Wednesday, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said mifepristone, also known as RU 486, should remain available pending a full hearing of the case, but limited access to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, down from 10, and blocked it from being distributed by mail.
The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court, where conservatives wield a 6-3 majority, to stay the latest ruling, scheduled to take effect at 1:00 am Eastern Time (0500 GMT) on Saturday, pending a full hearing of the case.
It said the initial ruling by Kacsmaryk, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump, was based on a "deeply misguided assessment of mifepristone's safety."
- 'Untenable limbo' -
Danco Laboratories, the manufacturer of mifepristone, which it markets under the brand name Mifeprex, urged the Supreme Court in a separate filing to stay the lower courts' rulings pending an appeal, saying they risked creating "regulatory chaos across the country."
The company noted that a separate federal court in Washington state had ruled in response to a suit by 17 Democratic-ruled US states that access to mifepristone should be maintained.
"The result is an untenable limbo, for Danco, for providers, for women, and for health care systems all trying to navigate these uncharted waters," Danco said.
More than a dozen US states have passed laws banning or severely restricting abortion since the Supreme Court last year overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that had enshrined the constitutional right to the procedure for half a century.
In the latest development, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill banning most abortions in the southern state after six weeks, before many women even know they are pregnant.
Mifepristone is one component of a two-drug regimen that can be used through the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
It has a long safety record, and the FDA estimates 5.6 million Americans have used it to terminate pregnancies since it was approved.
L. de Freitas--JDB
