On April 7, federal Northern District of Texas judge Matthew Kacsmaryk overturned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 20-year old approval of the drug mifepristone for use as an abortion agent. The same day, another federal judge, Thomas O. Rice in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Washington, came to the opposite conclusion, and ruled that sale of the drug in 18 states could continue. The competing rulings set up a showdown in the same U.S. Supreme Court that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Supreme Court Justice Ailito has signed an order temporarily restoring federal approval of the drug while the government files its appeal, but that’s not necessarily an indicator of how the Court might rule. Joining us now to help sort this all out is Jenny Higgins, University of Wisconsin Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the Collaborative for Reproductive Equality.
- UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity statement on mifepristone rulings
- New report released on changes to abortion access post-Dobbs
- After Roe
