A federal judge in Texas, in an unprecedented move, has ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to temporarily halt its approval of mifepristone, a drug used for abortion.
U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee in Amarillo, Texas, signed an injunction directing the FDA to stay mifepristone’s approval, while the lawsuit that challenges the safety and approval of the drug continues.
Kacsmaryk said the FDA had ignored risks in approving the drug. “The Court does not second-guess FDA’s decision-making lightly,” reads the decision (pdf). “But 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….