Far-Right Fifth Circuit Judges Appear Determined to Remove Access to Abortion Pill Mifepristone

[niyad]

Far-Right Fifth Circuit Judges Appear Determined to Remove Access to Abortion Pill Mifepristone
5/18/2023 by Carrie N. Baker




Abortion rights activists rallied outside the U.S. Supreme Court on April 14, after the Court temporarily preserved access to mifepristone, a widely used abortion pill, in an 11th-hour ruling preventing lower court restrictions on the drug from coming into force. (Probal Rashid / LightRocket via Getty Images)

The Texas case on the abortion pill mifepristone was back in court for oral arguments before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday. The three Republican-appointed judges aggressively questioned the attorneys defending access to mifepristone—not letting them finish a sentence or answer their questions—and utilized anti-abortion language and talking points that perpetuate misinformation. Meanwhile, the judges interacted amicably with the attorney representing anti-abortion plaintiffs trying to remove mifepristone from the market. The two-hour oral argument strongly indicated the judges were preparing to significantly limit access to mifepristone.


The three-judge panel selected to hear the appeal consisted of two anti-abortion Trump appointees: James Ho and Cory Wilson. In a 2019 decision, Ho wrote, “Abortion is the immoral, tragic and violent taking of innocent human life.” As a Mississippi state lawmaker, Wilson voted for a six-week abortion ban. The third was a George W. Bush nominee Jennifer Elrod. All three judges are listed on the Federalist Society website as contributors to the organization. “It’s hard to have a more conservative panel, even on the uber-conservative Fifth Circuit,” tweeted Drexel law professor David Cohen. Department of Justice attorney Sarah Harrington represented the FDA, and attorney Jessica Ellsworth of the law firm Hogan Lovells represented Danco, which makes Mifeprex, the brand-name mifepristone drug. Representing the anti-abortion plaintiffs was Erin Morrow Hawley, also a Federalist Society contributor. Hawley is married to Senator Josh Hawley (D-Mo.), who has received campaign contributions from the district court judge in the case, Matthew Kacsmaryk—a Trump-appointed federal judge in Amarillo, Texas.

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Mifepristone is used in combination with another medication—misoprostol—to safely and effectively end early pregnancy. (Robin Marty / Flickr)

Cohen reminded his followers on Twitter, “DON’T WORRY. Whatever they decide will change absolutely nothing. Zero. Zilch. They have no power whatsoever here. Why? Because the Supreme Court has put all orders on hold in this case pending resolution in the Supreme Court (not the Fifth Circuit).” Even before the arguments, Cohen summed it up in a final tweet: “So absolutely they’re going to ask terrible questions and write an awful opinion. But it will have no effect. None whatsoever. Because what the Supreme Court does in this case is what matters. So do yourself a favor and just ignore the Fifth Circuit. They’ve earned it.”

If the Fifth Circuit decides to restrict mifepristone, the Department of Justice will appeal to the Supreme Court, and the Court’s previous order allowing the medication to stay on the market while the case is pending will continue. Any Fifth Circuit decision will have no bearing on the present availability of mifepristone, which is accessible by telemedicine in all 50 states through Aid Access. The organization Plan C has a comprehensive guide to finding abortion pills on their website at www.plancpills.org. (Select “Find Abortion Pills” and then select the state where you are located from the drop-down menu.) The website is continually updated and has all the latest information on where to find abortion pills from anywhere in the U.S.

https://msmagazine.com/2023/05/18/fifth-circuit-abortion-mifepristone/

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. This judge is an idiot/partisan hack

Ho is a major league TFG asshole

Link to tweet