Once again, men write headline for reproductive health

MADISON, Wis. — Today, a Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary ruling to revoke the 23-year-old approval by the Food and Drug Administration for mifepristone, despite there being no evidence to back up the claim. Shortly thereafter, a Washington state federal judge ordered the FDA to maintain its approval of mifepristone. 

This creates a legal standoff with two conflicting decisions that likely will make its way to the United States Supreme Court. 

“Overturning Roe was just the beginning for anti-choice extremists,” said Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison), an attorney and reproductive rights expert. “Right-wing politicians, in this case a Trump-appointed Texas judge, are fighting on every front to criminalize abortion and make it more difficult to obtain. Their ultimate goal is a nationwide abortion ban, including outlawing many forms of birth control and infertility treatments as well. Meanwhile, the electorate continues to vote in favor of pro-choice candidates by overwhelming margins.

“We cannot let rogue judges and politicians impose their views on the majority of people in the state, at the expense of our health and lives. I encourage the FDA and the Biden Administration to ignore this bad-faith effort to abuse the legal process. Only the FDA can withdraw a medication from the market, and there is no basis to do that, since mifepristone is safe, effective, undetectable, and easy to use. In fact, it is safer than Tylenol, Viagra, and childbirth.

“Based on its safety profile and efficacy, medication abortion should be over the counter. In the meantime, people who need medication abortion or want an advance prescription to have on hand should order one now — with both mifepristone and misoprostol — from AidAccess.org. Alternatively, women can induce abortion by taking misoprostol only or traveling to states where surgical abortions are available.”