US court restricts access to abortion pill, ruling on hold

WASHINGTON: A US federal appeals court on Wednesday imposed restrictions on a widely used abortion pill, but the ruling will remain on hold as the Supreme Court decides whether to hear the case.

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals would limit use of mifepristone to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, instead of 10, and block it from being distributed by mail.

It would also require the abortion pill, which accounts for more than half of the abortions in the United States, to be prescribed by a doctor.

Despite the ruling by the panel of conservative judges, two of whom were appointed by former president Donald Trump and one by former president George W. Bush, the drug will remain on the market for the time being.

Anti-abortion groups are seeking to have mifepristone banned, claiming despite its long track record that it is unsafe. The case is the latest skirmish in the battle over reproductive rights in the United States.

The appeals court said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which approved the abortion pill in 2000 and made it more readily available in 2016, “failed to address several important concerns about whether the drug would be safe for the women who use it.” At a hearing in May, the three judges pushed back against government arguments that the decision on whether to allow the use of mifepristone should be left to the FDA.

The case stems from an earlier ruling by a conservative US District Court judge in Texas that would have banned mifepristone.