The latest battle over a widely used abortion drug is set to take place Wednesday in the Conservative Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which has become the testing ground for one of the nation’s most controversial policy battles.
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will review the legal status of mifepristone, a drug used in more than half of all recent abortions in the United States.
“In effect, the court is by any measure the most conservative court of appeals in the country,” said Stephen I. Vladek, a law professor at the University of Texas.
Courts ruling Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi question steps taken by Food and Drug Administration to facilitate access to mifepristone, part of two-pill formula used for medical abortion is almost certain to be The state has long been at the center of high-profile challenges to policies backed by the Obama and Biden administrations, including gun control and transgender rights, but a wave of Trump appointments has arrived. , which pushed the state to the forefront of influential policymaking.
In November, the Hippocratic Medical Alliance, an umbrella group of anti-abortion medical groups and four doctors, challenged the FDA’s approval of the drug more than two decades ago.
Plaintiffs allege that mifepristone is unsafe and that the FDA’s approval process was flawed. The agency vigorously refuted these claims, pointing to a series of studies that found that serious complications were rare and that less than 1 percent of patients required hospitalization, suggesting that the drug is safe and effective. said it was a target.
Texas federal judge Matthew J. Kaksmalik said in a preliminary judgment that mifepristone should be removed from the market and FDA approval of the drug suspended.
However, the Supreme Court last month temporarily blocked His decision will be made as the appeal progresses, but the court process could take months. Access to abortion drugs will not change until the Supreme Court decides on the issue or refuses to intervene.
The Supreme Court ruling ensures full access to mifepristone and imposes restrictions, but does not significantly limit its availability or may withdraw approval of the drug.
The merits of this case are still pending before Judge Kacmalik. Ultimately, these people, too, will likely be sent to the Fifth Circuit and then to the Supreme Court.
The lawsuit could have far-reaching ramifications, including restricting access to abortion even in states where abortion is legal, as well as undermining the FDA’s regulatory approval of other medicines.
The Fifth Circuit is already open to restrictions on abortion.
Last month, the three-judge panel split after the Biden administration appealed against Judge Kacmalik’s ruling. removed the most important part of his decision However, it has undermined recent efforts by the FDA to curb distribution and increase availability of tablets. These include allowing pills to be mailed or prescribed by non-physician health care providers.
In October 2021, let the ingredients rest Abortion is almost completely banned in Texas. In 2018, upheld the law Louisiana mandated that doctors who provide abortions be granted admission privileges to nearby hospitals, but opponents said the requirement would simply remain in the state. single abortion clinic.
Over the decades, the Fifth Circuit has had a number of Republican-appointed judges, but its current composition increasingly reflects that influence. President Donald J. Trump’s Seal of Justicesaid Erwin Chemelinski, dean of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
“What’s so great about the Fifth Circuit is not just that it’s dominated by Republican appointees, it’s how conservative they are,” Chemelinski said.
In February repealed some federal laws The law barred people covered by domestic violence bans from owning guns for nearly 30 years. In August, it blocked a government policy requiring doctors and hospitals to undergo gender transition procedures. And in March 2022, restrained federal power Enforce laws to prevent companies from deceiving investors.
Of the 16 sitting judges on the circuit, 12 are Republican appointees. Half of those were appointed by Trump.
The three judges randomly assigned to the abortion drug case are President Trump-appointed Justices James C. Ho and Corey T. Wilson, and President George W. Bush’s appointment of Jennifer J. One of Judge Walker Elrod.
Justice Ho, a former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas, sat on the court in 2017. an opinion that agrees A year later, Justice Ho lamented “the moral tragedy of abortion.”His conservative authenticity includes that he served as Attorney General of Texas A series of legal challenges against the Obama administration. Serves as Chief Counsel to Senator John Cornyn.and volunteer as a lawyer For the First Liberty Institute, a conservative legal group focused on religious liberty issues.
Before joining the Court of Appeals in 2020, Judge Wilson served as a judge and state legislator in Mississippi, where she vehemently opposed abortion rights. In his 2007 survey, he said, “A complete and immediate reversal of Roe vs. Wade.” And as an elected state employee, he has supported abortion bans and a bill that seeks to criminalize abortion providers. He has consistently denounced the Affordable Care Act and called for tougher voting measures.
Judge Elrod, who was confirmed in 2007, said in 2014: upheld Texas law or imposed more restrictions on abortionIncluding requiring doctors to: follow outdated and ineffective therapies that critics say In prescribing abortion-inducing drugs. She wrote the majority opinion when a court issued a federal ban on bump stock in January. Enable Semi-automatic Rifle Fire in rapid succession.
The fact that the Fifth Circuit is often at the forefront of controversial rulings is a reflection, in part, of the ideological makeup of its justices and of its geographical spread of conservative states, which are partly influenced by Democratic administrations. generating constant challenge to the policies enacted under it.
(Yes, in California courts seen as a receptive battlefield For the liberal organizations that are waging war against the Trump administration on issues like immigration, the environment, and voting rights. )
A case quota system, which is unusual in Texas, is also at play.
Many federal appeals courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, long known as the more liberal circuit, assign cases by lottery. Lawyers can try to file cases in court where they have a chance to land before a sympathetic judge, but they cannot choose a particular jurist.
However, in some areas of Texas, only one judge, effectively allowing parties to choose who oversees their litigation. One such division is in the mid-sized Texas Panhandle city of Amarillo, where Judge Kachmalik presides over all civil cases, including those brought by the Anti-Abortion Plaintiffs Coalition.
“More often than at any other circuit, we are able to handpick the district court judges,” Vladek said.
In August, shortly after the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, the Hippocratic Medical Union Incorporated in Amarillo.It includes 5 medical groups Oppose out-of-state abortions.This fall, the Union filed a lawsuit In Amarillo, he assured that the case would be brought before Judge Kachmalik.
Before being appointed to the federal court by Trump, Judge Kachmalik wrote critically of Roe v. Wade, Worked at the First Liberty Institute.
