Last Friday, a federal judge in Texas ruled to revoke the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, a drug used to create a chemical abortion. The judge said the FDA had not followed its own safety protocols in approving the drug. He put his nationwide ruling on hold for seven days to give the federal government time to appeal. Also on Friday, a federal court in Washington State issued a ruling preventing the FDA from blocking the availability of mifepristone in the eighteen states that had joined the lawsuit, which did not include Wisconsin.
This issue is clearly headed to the US Supreme Court, probably sooner rather than later. For now, the favorable Texas ruling should not have an impact in our state since most abortions, whether surgical or chemical, are prohibited. That could change, if, for instance, our state supreme court were to concoct a so-called “right” to abortion in our state constitution.
