The fight over abortion access is at the forefront of American politics once again, but this time involving the FDA.
A federal judge in Texas issued a national ruling Friday saying the FDA improperly approved the drug Mifepristone, also known as the abortion pill.
Director of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic Alison Kiser says this is a politically based decision.
“The scientific evidence completely flies in the face of the judge’s opinion,” Kiser said. “We consider this to be a politically motivated judge issuing a politically motivated opinion. In fact, Mifepristone has been safely used by over five million people over the past twenty years.”
Victoria Cobb, President of faith-based organization The Family Foundation, said the pills shouldn’t have been approved in the first place.
“For a long time, politics have played too big a role in the FDA, and these chemical abortions are just a clear example of that,” Cobb said. “Where they simply were not medically tested to the degree women should be taking them.”
Mifepristone is a two-series pill for the first ten weeks of pregnancy. Kiser says it’s critical for women’s reproductive privacy.
“People may choose medication abortion because they feel it gives an extra element of privacy, there may be other medical considerations that a doctor or healthcare provider may recommend that medication abortion is the best option for them,” Kiser said.
Abortion does remain legal in Virginia through the second trimester, and into the third with proper medical approval.
The Texas judge’s ruling has seven days to be appealed before going into effect and is already being challenged in several states.
Planned Parenthood says they will still offer the pill unless told otherwise from the FDA.