Abortion to remain legal in Pa. regardless of Texas judge's ruling, local expert says
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A controversial ruling by a federal judge in Texas over an abortion pill used for two decades has brought sharp condemnation from some local leaders.
But as KDKA political editor Jon Delano notes, a decision by a different federal judge seems to preserve the status quo in Pennsylvania.
Sue Frietsche, senior attorney and co-director of the Women's Law Project, wants Pennsylvanians to know one thing: "Abortion is safe and legal and accessible and available in Pennsylvania. It is safe and available now in this state for the foreseeable future no matter what happens in these court cases," says Frietsche.
That message was echoed by state Attorney General Michelle Henry even though a Texas judge ruled on Friday that the abortion drug mifepristone was not properly tested by the Food and Drug Administration twenty years ago.
So what is mifepristone?
"Mifepristone is a medication that stops the action of a hormone called progesterone which is necessary to sustain a pregnancy," says Dr. Arvind Venkat, a physician and state representative from McCandless.
Chris Pushaw, executive director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, has a different take.
"Mifepristone is a drug that blocks that hormone and essentially starves the baby inside the womb," says Pushaw. "Mifepristone has also been shown to endanger the health and lives of mothers and prospective mothers who are taking it as well."
Nonsense, says Dr. Venkat.
"It's been in use in the United States for well over 20 years, and its side effect profile is actually more safe than some very common over-the-counter medications like Tylenol, and so it is safe. It is effective," says Venkat.
Venkat worries about judges who know nothing about medicine stepping in to overrule the drugs approved by scientists and doctors at the FDA.
"This has the potential to cause chaos in the health care system in the United States," says Venkat.
The solution, he says, is to elect those who support reproductive rights.
"This is an issue that is absolutely on the ballot and will continue to be on the ballot."
While a Texas federal judge ruled one way, a federal judge in Washington state ordered the FDA not to withdraw mifepristone from states like Pennsylvania.
The legal issues are likely to take months to resolve.
In the meantime, abortion remains part of reproductive health in this state.