Proposed Rules to Protect Access to Abortion Drugs in the Light of the Recent US Court of Appeals Court ruling on mifepristone

The doctors who want to prevent abortion drugs from being approved told a federal appeals court that a ruling should stay in place and prevent the drug from being approved.

Now that the filings have been submitted, the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Court could rule at any time on whether to put a hold on the order from US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk.

The anti-abortion doctors defended Kacsmaryk’s ruling called it a “meticulously considered” ruling that “paints an alarming picture of decades-long agency lawlessness – all to the detriment of the women and girls FDA is charged to protect.”

The FDA approved mifepristone after a four-year review process. It has been shown to be a safe and effective way to end a pregnant woman’s life for over two decades. But anti-abortion doctors and medical associations allege that the agency ran afoul of the law by not adequately taking into account the drug’s supposed risks.

The NPRM proposes to improve privacy protections by prohibiting the use or disclosure of protected health information by regulated entities, such as health insurance plans, providers and others for a criminal, civil or administrative investigation into proceeding against a person.

The new rule proposal comes as Vice President Kamala Harris is set to convene an interagency taskforce meeting on reproductive rights at the White House. Also attending are Attorney General Garland and Health and Human Services Secretary.

Senior administration officials talked to reporters about the proposed rulemaking, which was released in response to a ruling by a judge in Texas suspending the approval of the FDA’s approval of abortion drugs.

But before Wednesday, the White House had yet to outline what other steps it could take to secure its availability. The administration took similar limited steps to protect access to abortion after the Dobbs decision, but Friday’s ruling set off calls from frustrated progressive Democrats for the FDA and Biden administration to ignore the ruling – a request that the administration has said would set a “dangerous precedent.”

This proposed rule, they said, providers further cover “to not provide that information, if it’s not for the specific purpose articulated in the role.”

According to the White House, the Department of Education is issuing guidance and reminding over 20,000 school officials of their obligations to student privacy.

The White House’s Response to the Texas Medical Abortion Decision: Implications for the Roe v. Wade and Other Reproductive Rights

A conflicting ruling on abortion pills in Washington created arguably the most contentious and chaotic legal flashpoint since last summer.

There was a scramble from administration officials who were bracing for the Texas ruling to come down and officials who had been behind closed doors working on a response. After the decision dropped Friday, a senior administration official said the White House immediately began engaging allies on the next steps.

A second senior official told CNN that the staff of both the House and the Senate have close contact with groups focused on abortion and women’s groups. “We’ve also been in close contact, of course, with allies on the state level, state legislators, attorneys general etc. We will continue to do that.

In the midst of a health care crisis the vice president will highlight the administration’s commitment to protecting reproductive rights.

The administration has responded to the issue of abortion rights. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, she has hosted dozens of roundtable discussions about reproductive rights, including access to contraception and medication abortion, while meeting with state legislators across the country.

A federal appeals court late Wednesday night froze parts of a Texas judge’s order that would have suspended the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a medication abortion drug.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that some of the ruling that stopped the FDA from changing their rules around the abortion pill could stay in place. The FDA no longer requires that a drug be picked up in person, the agency has approved a generic version, and the FDA has changed the instructions on the drug’s use.

Since the Supreme Court ruled last year that abortion rights can’t be upheld nationally, there has been a lot of debate around medication abortion, which accounts for most of abortions in the US.

It’s unclear if the DOJ or the manufacturers of the drug will ask the Supreme Court to intervene. If the 5th Circuit didn’t act by noon on Thursday, the DOJ would take the case to the high court.

The appellate order was handed down by Circuit Judges Catharina Haynes, a George W. Bush nominee, and Kurt Engelhardt and Andrew Oldham, both Donald Trump nominees. Haynes did not agree with some of the elements of the order.

The 5th Circuit ordered that much of the order be devoted to analyzing whether or not there were procedural issues in bringing the case. The appeals court was sympathetic to a large swath of the plaintiffs’ allegations about the drug’s safety, which have been rebuked by leading medical associations.