State of play: The three-judge panel that presided over the case included two Trump appointees, Judges James Ho and Cory Wilson, and one Bush appointee, Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod. All three have an anti-abortion history.
- Mifepristone is considered safe and effective by major medical groups, such as the American Medical Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the World Health Organization.
The DOJ said that the groups lack standing because they are not directly regulated by the FDA — which does not have the authority to regulate the practice of medicine — and because the damages they say they will suffer are speculative, as the Supreme Court has previously set that plaintiffs in a case need to show real impact to bring a lawsuit.
Wilson also challenged the DOJ, suggesting that when the FDA allowed patients to access mifepristone via mail, they should have taken the long-dormant Comstock Act, an 1873 law that made it illegal to mail what at the time was considered “obscene, lewd, lascivious,” such as pornographic publications.
Between the lines: Legal experts have argued that it is not the FDA’s job to consider federal laws when approving or authorizing treatments because they do not enforce them.
Don’t forget: A definitive ruling directing the FDA to get rid of its authorization of mifepristone would set a precedent allowing a single judge to have the final say in the U.S. drug approval process.