A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that a popular abortion pill could still be used, albeit for a shorter time during pregnancy.
This would undercut a previous ruling from a Texas judge that banned the use of the abortion pill mifepristone, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved, The Associated Press reported.
However, the court maintained that the drug could not be sent by mail, reducing the availability of the drug to people seeking abortions.
This comes after the historic 1973 Roe v. Wade decision was overturned in June 2022, causing at least 12 states to ban abortion outright.
The overturning of the case was not without its opponents.
“We are going to continue to fight in the courts, we believe the law is on our side, and we will prevail,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said to AP on Thursday.
The Justice Department indicated that it would ask the Supreme Court to issue an emergency halt on any action.
Meanwhile, anti-abortion advocates, including the ones who challenged the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, said they were satisfied for the time being.
“The 5th Circuit’s decision is a significant victory for the doctors we represent, women’s health, and every American who deserves an accountable federal government acting within the bounds of the law,” said Erin Hawley, attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom, to AP. The Alliance Defending Freedom was the group that challenged the drug’s approval by the FDA.
The 5th Court judges voted 2-1 to hold changes that would have loosened restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone. Had the restrictions been loosened, the period of pregnancy when mifepristone could have been used would have been increased to 10 weeks, and mifepristone would have been allowed to be distributed via mail without a corresponding appointment.
The two judges who voted in favor of holding the changes were appointees of former President Donald Trump.
