{"id":228040,"date":"2020-07-28T16:38:25","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T21:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=228040"},"modified":"2020-07-28T15:19:59","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T20:19:59","slug":"fda-files-appeal-abortion-pill-safety-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/fda-files-appeal-abortion-pill-safety-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"FDA files appeal after judge suspends abortion pill safety rules during COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Earlier this month, a federal judge blocked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from requiring women to see a doctor to obtain abortion pills. This week, the FDA fired back.<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland, an Obama appointee, said the in-person requirement equals a “substantial obstacle” during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Particularly in light of the limited timeframe during which a medication abortion or any abortion must occur, such infringement on the right to an abortion would constitute irreparable harm,\u201d he wrote in his ruling<\/a>. “By causing certain patients to decide between forgoing or substantially delaying abortion care, or risking exposure to COVID-19 for themselves, their children, and family members, the In-Person Requirements present a serious burden to many abortion patients.”<\/p>\n

Yet the FDA filed an appeal<\/a> against that decision, arguing that it would be more dangerous for women to have the in-person requirement overturned. \u201cDefendants will also suffer irreparable harm in the absence of a stay because they will be unable to enforce requirements that FDA has determined, based on its experience and scientific expertise, are necessary to ensure safe use of Mifeprex,” the FDA appeal read. “Requiring patients to obtain Mifeprex at a clinic — as has been required for years — does not deprive women of the \u2018ability to make a decision to have an abortion.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n