Federal appellate panel blocks part of expansive abortion pill ban, allows some restrictions to take effect


A three-judge panel of the conservative U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled late Wednesday that the abortion medication mifepristone will remain on the market while the Justice Department appeals a decision by a federal judge in Texas that would have withdrawn FDA approval for the drug entirely. The FDA gave mifepristone the green light in 2000, and the appellate judges agreed that the six-year statute of limitations prevented overturning the original authorization.
But in the 2-1 decision, the panel said the easing of restrictions the FDA and Biden administration have enacted since 2016 will remain blocked under U.S District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk's sweeping ruling. That means mifepristone can only be prescribed by a doctor, must be used only up to seven weeks of pregnancy instead of 10, entails three in-person doctors' visits, and cannot be dispensed through the mail, among other limits.
The two judges in the majority, Kurt Engelhardt and Andrew Oldham, were, like Kacsmaryk, nominated by former President Donald Trump. Judge Catharina Haynes, a George W. Bush appointee, would have put Kacsmaryk's entire ruling on hold.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Mifepristone has been used by millions of women over the past 23 years, and complications from mifepristone occur at a lower rate than problems in wisdom teeth removal, colonoscopies, and other routine procedures," The Associated Press reports, citing major medical organizations. The combination of mifepristone and misoprostol is the most common method of abortion in the U.S., and has become more widely used since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last summer.
The Justice Department has asked a federal judge in Washington State to explain how his dueling ruling, barring the FDA from changing its rules on mifepristone in 17 states and Washington, D.C., fits in with Kacsmaryk's ruling. The Biden administration and the anti-abortion group that persuaded Kacsmaryk to overrule the FDA can both appeal to the Supreme Court, one to strike down the entire ruling and the other to uphold all of it. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said early Thursday that the Biden administration will "continue to fight in the courts. We believe that the law is on our side and we will prevail."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Book reviews: ‘Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America’ and ‘How to End a Story: Collected Diaries, 1978–1998’
Feature A political ‘witch hunt’ and Helen Garner’s journal entries
By The Week US Published
-
The backlash against ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli filter
The Explainer The studio's charming style has become part of a nebulous social media trend
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study finds
Speed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addiction
Speed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published