Justice Department Requests Clarification from Judge Rice on Order to Maintain Availability of Abortion Pill in Multiple States

The Justice Department has asked a federal judge in Washington state to clarify an order that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintain the availability of the abortion pill in more than a dozen states. This request comes after a federal judge in Texas halted the FDA’s approval of the same drug.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice, of the federal district court in Spokane, issued a preliminary injunction Friday that blocked the FDA from “altering the status quo and rights as it relates to the availability of mifepristone,” one of two drugs used in medication abortions. This ruling is in direct opposition to the Texas decision, which was handed down just 20 minutes prior.

The Justice Department is now seeking clarification from Judge Rice on the order, as it is at odds with the Texas decision. A coalition of Democratic attorneys general had filed suit to lift some of the long-time restrictions that make mifepristone singularly hard to access, and which the medical community has long opposed as political and not medical in nature.

The FDA has been ordered to maintain the “status quo” in keeping the drug available for the states involved in the case. It is unclear at this time how the Justice Department’s request for clarification will affect the ruling.

The Justice Department’s request for clarification on the order is the latest development in the ongoing battle over access to the abortion pill. It remains to be seen how the court will respond to the request and how it will affect the availability of the drug in the states involved.