Minnesota officials respond to Texas federal judge halting FDA approval of abortion pill mifepristone

MINNEAPOLIS -- Several Minnesota officials are responding to a Friday night ruling by a Texas federal judge that halted the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk said in his 67-page opinion that the two-decade-old approval violated a federal rule that allows for accelerated approval for certain drugs and, along with subsequent actions by the agency, was unlawful. Kacsmaryk put his decision on hold for seven days to allow for the Biden administration to appeal; they filed their notice of appeal later Friday night.

Sen. Tina Smith said she was "furious" with the decision.

"A single ultra-conservative activist judge just attempted to strip away access to safe and effective medication abortions for millions of women nationwide. This ruling is nothing but an extremist, anti-democratic national abortion ban," Smith said in a statement. "This outrageous decision would do irreparable harm to women's health. It's a clear attack on our freedoms and it cannot be allowed to stand."

Gov. Tim Walz tweeted on Friday that he, as governor "will always fight to ensure reproductive freedom stays protected in Minnesota."

President Joe Biden himself said the ruling is "taking away basic freedoms from women and putting their health at risk."

With a DFL-controled trifecta in Minnesota, lawmakers have pushed to protect abortion access this session. In January, Walz signed the PRO Act, establishing a "fundamental right" to an abortion in law. Other bills are still advancing, including one to repeal restrictions declared unconstitutional by a judge last summer, and to fortify Minnesota' status as a refuge for patients from states who come for abortions. 

The FDA approved mifepristone more than 20 years ago, and the drug is taken together with a second medicine, misoprostol, to terminate a pregnancy through 10 weeks gestation. Since then, the agency has made several changes to the rules surrounding the abortion pill, including approving a generic version of mifepristone in 2019 and lifting a requirement that the pills be dispensed in-person in 2021, which allowed the drug to be prescribed by a provider during telemedicine appointments and sent by mail.