New Update on the Kacsmaryk Ruling

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled on Kacsmaryk’s opinion.

This legal tug of war has the potential to change the landscape of abortion in America, second only to the reversal of Roe v. Wade.

By a vote of 2-1, the Fifth Circuit upheld some of Kacsmaryk’s ruling. Chemical abortion pills will be available but only up to seven weeks, not ten. And they cannot be dispensed by mail. Either side may appeal this decision to the Supreme Court.

Here’s a brief rundown on the situation with U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk – why the FDA was sued, the Judge’s ruling and some responses from the other side.

The plaintiffs suing the FDA include four pro-life medical organizations:

• Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine
• American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists
• American College of Pediatricians
• Christian Medical & Dental Associations

And four doctors:

• Shaun Jester
• Regina Frost-Clark
• Tyler Johnson
• George Delgado

They sued the FDA for its sloppy and politically motivated approval of chemical abortion in 2000. The plaintiffs also say the FDA:

1. 1. Changed the dosage and method of administration.
2. 2. Reduced the three required in-person office visits to one.
3. 3. Expanded the list of who can prescribe and administer the pills beyond medical doctors.
4. 4. Dropped the requirement that abortionists report complications from chemical abortion pills. They are now required to only report drug-related fatalities, hiding 95% of the problems caused by the pills.
5. 5. Allows abortionists to send chemical abortion pills through the mail, a violation of federal law.

Key Statements by Judge Kacsmaryk

“The Court does not second-guess FDA’s decision-making lightly. But here, FDA acquiesced on its legitimate safety concerns — in violation of its statutory duty — based on plainly unsound reasoning and studies that did not support its conclusions.”

“Why did it take two decades for judicial review in federal court? … Simply put, FDA stonewalled judicial review—until now. Before Plaintiffs filed this case, FDA ignored their petitions for over sixteen years, even though the law requires an agency response within ‘180 days of receipt of the petition.’”

“Women who have aborted a child – especially through chemical abortion drugs that necessitate the woman seeing her aborted child once it passes – often experience shame, regret, anxiety, depression, drug abuse and suicidal thoughts because of the abortion.”

Pro-abortion response

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), extreme pro-abortion members of Congress, immediately asked the Biden administration to blatantly ignore the rule of law and dismiss the FDA ruling.

The other side could not match the accuracy and medically sound arguments of the plaintiffs, so they personally attacked Judge Kacsmaryk. Attacking the messenger is a strategy they invoke repeatedly.

The Los Angeles Times characterized Judge Kacsmaryk and others like him as “far-right federal judges” who are “increasingly unconstrained” with “no sense of accountability.”

It attacked Kacsmaryk for the words he used in his opinion, including “abortionists” “kill[s]” an “unborn child” or “unborn human.” Words are effective, which the Times fully understands. They are experts at keeping their readers in the dark when it comes to abortion.

The Washington Post declared Judge Kacsmaryk “The worst federal judge in America” and a “zealot.” It foolishly and untruthfully claimed chemical abortion pills were safer than Tylenol. Those who ink such irresponsible statements are either ignorant or lying.

Related emergency room visits by women taking chemical abortion pills increased more than 500 percent between 2002 and 2015. After 2015, the FDA began hiding complications unless they resulted in a woman’s death – a coverup of approximately 95% of all complications from the abortion pill.

A wild card is the same-day ruling by U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice, giving cover to the blue states whose state attorneys general sought protection to continue distribution of the pills. It’s unknown what the impact of this conflicting ruling will be.

If pro-life forces prevail in the courts, it has the potential to send shockwaves throughout the abortion industry while saving millions of babies. I’ll keep you posted.

For LIFE,