红杏视频 Statement on Federal Court Allowing Medication Abortion Case to Continue in Amarillo, Texas

The ruling issued by Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk threatens access to care across the country.

January 16, 2025 4:00 pm

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AMARILLO, Texas 鈥 U.S. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas issued a ruling today permitting the attorneys general of Idaho, Kansas, and Missouri to continue litigating the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA case in his courtroom in Amarillo, Texas.

The decision issued by the federal court in Texas comes after the Supreme Court鈥檚 June 2024 holding that the anti-abortion groups that originally brought the Alliance case lacked legal standing to sue. The Biden administration鈥檚 Department of Justice sought to end the case altogether based on longstanding legal precedent making clear that a case must be dismissed if the original plaintiffs lacked standing. However, today鈥檚 ruling deems that briefing moot and requests further briefing on whether the case can proceed 鈥 which will now come from the Trump administration, as well as from a manufacturer of mifepristone that is also in the case defending FDA鈥檚 actions.

Idaho, Kansas, and Missouri are expected to ask the court, which previously ruled to take mifepristone off the shelves nationwide in 2023, to issue another nationwide order imposing restrictions on mifepristone, including prohibiting patients from obtaining the medication via telehealth and then filling their prescription through a mail-order or local pharmacy. If they succeed, patients will be forced to travel hundreds, or even thousands, of miles to the nearest abortion provider just to be handed a pill. For many abortion patients, who are , the costs and burdens of arranging transportation and childcare, securing time off work, and/or traveling without an abusive partner鈥檚 notice makes such travel extremely difficult or impossible.

The attorneys general have indicated that they will also seek to withdraw FDA鈥檚 approval for the generic version of mifepristone that comprises ; to withdraw FDA鈥檚 approval for mifepristone use by minors; and to prohibit nurse-practitioners and other qualified health care professionals from prescribing mifepristone, among other nationwide restrictions.

Statement from Julia Kaye, senior staff attorney with the 红杏视频 of Reproductive Freedom Project:

鈥淥nce the Supreme Court found that the anti-abortion groups who brought the Alliance litigation never had a right to sue in the first place, this outrageous case should have been put to bed. Instead, the same Texas judge who already tried to take mifepristone off the market nationwide has left the door open for extremist politicians to continue attacking medication abortion in his courtroom.

鈥淭he nation鈥檚 leading medical authorities describe mifepristone as one of the safest medicines available 鈥 safer than many drugs in your medicine cabinet right now. And even President-elect Trump walked back his attacks on abortion after realizing how overwhelmingly unpopular restricting abortion is with the American public. Today鈥檚 ruling means that President-elect Trump will have an early opportunity to either stay true to his word, or else instruct his Department of Justice to ignore the overwhelming scientific evidence and stop defending access to medication abortion. The American people will be watching.

鈥淭he 红杏视频 will continue fighting for medication abortion until everyone who needs this safe, essential health care can access it.鈥

The ruling can be found here.


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