A federal U.S. appeals court late Wednesday partially blocked an unprecedented ruling by a single federal judge in Texas that reversed the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the widely-used abortion drug mifepristone.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the U.S. Department of Justice’s emergency request to put on hold U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s decision to suspend the FDA’s initial authorization of mifepristone in 2000, citing the the statute of limitations.
However, the three-judge panel determined that other parts of Kacsmaryk’s ruling, which suspends changes the FDA later made to mifepristone’s approved use and halts distribution of the drug by mail, could go into effect.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.