Justice Samuel Alito of the Supreme Court has issued an administrative stay on a Texas court’s ruling regarding the abortion medication mifepristone, preserving the drug legal for the time being.

ABC News reported that the stay will last until the end of business on April 19 so that the Supreme Court has more time to consider the case.

The Justice Department had petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency stay of an appeals court decision that would severely restrict access to the commonly used abortion drug mifepristone. The limitations were scheduled to go into effect early Saturday morning.

On behalf of the FDA, the Department of Justice urged the court to impose an immediate administrative stay of the 5th Circuit’s abortion pill decision, in order to preserve the status quo while the justices consider the application, but ultimately to stay the ruling pending appeal.

“If allowed to take effect, the lower courts’ orders would upend the regulatory regime for mifepristone, with sweeping consequences for the pharmaceutical industry, women who need access to the drug, and FDA’s ability to implement its statutory authority,” the Department of Justice said.

“Regulated entities are trying to discern their legal duties and urgently demanding guidance. FDA has spent the last week first grappling with the implications of the district court’s order, then racing to untangle the different and enormously more complicated issues raised by the Fifth Circuit’s decision. And in the meantime, another district court has enjoined FDA from doing anything to change the conditions on the distribution of mifepristone in 17 States and the District of Columbia — which means that FDA risks contempt if it takes action to permit the marketing of mifepristone in a manner consistent with the Fifth Circuit’s order. This Court should put a stop to that untenable situation by staying the district court’s order in full,” it said.

The administration stated that the Texas court’s decision is “the first time any court has overturned FDA conditions on a drug’s approval based on a disagreement with the agency’s safety judgment — much less after these conditions have been in effect for years.”

Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre commented on the decision.

“For now, mifepristone remains available and approved for safe and effective use,” she said.

“The President and his Administration continue to stand by FDA’s evidence-based approval of mifepristone,” she said, “and we will continue to support the FDA’s independent, expert authority to review, approve, and regulate a wide range of prescription drugs.”

However, Alliance Defending Freedom’s legal counsel stated that the court’s decision was “standard operating procedure.”

“It gives the court sufficient time to consider the parties’ arguments before ruling,” attorney Erin Hawley said. “We look forward to explaining why the FDA has not met its heavy burden to pause the parts of the district court’s decision that restore the critical safeguards for women and girls that were unlawfully removed by the FDA.”

A Republican lawmaker has apparently joined Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in urging the Biden administration to disregard a federal judge’s ruling regarding a widely used abortion medication.

Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina expressed her disagreement with the Texas judge who halted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from approving the chemical abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol during an interview on “CNN This Morning” on Monday.

Mace criticized U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s decision to suspend the approval of the drugs, claiming he erred. She also argued that the FDA should disregard the judge’s judgment after the judge granted a preliminary injunction against the use of the drugs and ordered the FDA to reverse its approval of them on Friday.

“In fact, when you look at the court case and the ruling here the judge used an act or a law from the 1800s that was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1983, over one hundred years later, roughly, that that law was unconstitutional,” Mace said. “This is an FDA-approved drug. Whether you agree with its usage or not, that’s not your decision. That is the FDA’s decision.”

Republican @NancyMace says she believes the FDA should ignore the Texas judge’s ruling. “This is an FDA approved drug. Whether you agree with its usage or not, that's not your decision. That is the FDA’s decision.” pic.twitter.com/wGJBunurcL

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) April 10, 2023

“A judge cited the Comstock Act from 1873, which was ruled unconstitutional by SCOTUS in 1983, to block a @US_FDA approved drug,” Mace also noted on her official Twitter account Monday. “Whether you agree with its usage or not, that’s not your decision. It is the FDA’s decision. Women are watching, and they deserve better.”

A judge cited the Comstock Act from 1873, which was ruled unconstitutional by SCOTUS in 1983, to block a @US_FDA approved drug. Whether you agree with its usage or not, that's not your decision. It is the FDA’s decision. Women are watching, and they deserve better.

— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) April 10, 2023

More on this story via Conservative Brief:

 According to the Daily Caller, Kacsmaryk noted in his decision that the plaintiffs suing the FDA over the dangers of using chemical abortion pills have “credibly alleged past and future harm” as a result of the FDA’s approval of the drugs. In addition, he mentioned that the FDA itself had expressed “serious reservations” about the medications but approved them anyway. CONTINUE READING…