BETHLEHEM — Some college students in the Lehigh Valley say they are closely following two court cases that could affect abortion access nationwide.
There have been two competing federal court rulings about whether the pill mifepristone should stay on the market.
A judge in Amarillo, Texas, suspended the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval for the drug to continue to be sold. That injunction is set to go into effect Saturday unless a higher court stays it.
- A Texas federal judge has ruled to remove approval for an abortion pill to be sold nationwide
- Pennsylvania is part of a lawsuit where access to Mifepristone is protected
- The issue may go to the U.S. Supreme Court for an ultimate decision to be made
Meanwhile, a judge in Washington State has ordered that access to the drug be maintained in 17 states and Washington, D.C.
Pennsylvania is among the states that brought that lawsuit, so access in the state is protected for now.
Susan Frietsche, interim co-executive director of the Women's Law Project, said the Texas ruling does not immediately change access to abortion in Pennsylvania.
“It’s truly unprecedented. No court has ever reversed the approval of a drug that has been approved by the FDA.”Susan Frietsche, interim co-executive director of the Women's Law Project
Current state law makes abortion, medication or surgical, legal through the end of the 23rd week of pregnancy. Exceptions after that can be made for the health risk of the mother.
“It’s truly unprecedented,” Frietsche said. “No court has ever reversed the approval of a drug that has been approved by the FDA.”
The U.S. Justice Department has appealed Texas Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk's order to the Fifth Circuit Appeals Court. The FDA also has asked the Washington State judge for clarification of his ruling.
'It should really be up to the person'
Lehigh University senior Kate Turkeltaub said she disagrees with the Texas judge’s decision to restrict access to mifepristone.
“It should really be up to the person and there really shouldn’t be any questions about why someone needs it as long as it’s available,” Turkeltaub said.
Medication abortion is usually an option until the first 10 or 11 weeks of pregnancy, according to the Pennsylvania Health Department website.
The regimen typically involves two pills, mifepristone and misoprostol, usually taken 24-48 hours apart. The first pill induces the abortion and the second causes contractions that help the uterus empty itself.
Frietsche said the mifepristone was FDA-approved more than 20 years ago.
“It has an absolutely stellar safety record,” she said.
Students for Life, a national group whose mission is to abolish abortion, said it believes the pill is unsafe and welcomed the ruling directing it be pulled from shelves.
Kacsmaryk argued in his decision the FDA wrongly used a provision that expedited the approval of the drug and that people sending it through the mail are violating the Comstock Act, a 150-year-old law that bans mailing abortion medication.
Could affect more than abortions
Moravian University sophomore Nina Worsley said she believes the pill is unsafe and that having it on the market makes it easier for people to be coerced into having an abortion.
“Regardless of your stance on abortion, I think that making something like that easier to do can never be seen as a good thing,” Worsley said.
Frietsche said the two lawsuits are on separate tracks in the U.S. legal system. She said the issue will likely be decided in the Supreme Court.
Frietsche said the outcome could affect more than just abortions.
“I have some concerns over what that ruling would end up looking like.”Keirstyn Empfield, student at DeSales
Mifepristone also is used for managing miscarriages. She said even if Pennsylvania remains protected by the Washington State court ruling, it could see shortages of the drug if the other judge’s order went into effect.
Keirstyn Empfield, who is studying neuroscience at DeSales University, said she’s worried about what the Supreme Court would decide if it got the issue.
“I have some concerns over what that ruling would end up looking like,” she said.
The Biden administration and the drug’s manufacturer have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to decide by noon Thursday, April 12, whether it will put the Texas court’s ruling on hold, allowing the pill to stay on the market while the legal process continues.
