President Joe Biden’s administration said it will not ignore a federal judge’s ruling that could eliminate access to a drug used in a majority of abortions in the United States ― even as Democrats and even a Republican in Congress have suggested they simply brush the ruling aside.
The ruling, issued Friday night by a U.S. District Court judge in Texas, found that the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone more than two decades ago was illegal. The judge stayed the ruling for seven days, and the Department of Justice immediately appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
Almost immediately, some Democrats ― including Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) ― began calling on the Biden administration to effectively ignore the ruling, noting that the law clearly and specifically gives the FDA sole authority over the drug approval process to keep it free from political interference.
In an interview Sunday…
