In an unprecedented decision, a federal judge in Texas has issued a stay that will shut down the prescribing and distribution of mifepristone in seven days, one of two drugs used for medication abortions that has been on the market in the U.S. for more than two decades.
District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former President Trump, gave the government a weeklong window to appeal and seek emergency relief before his ruling goes into effect.
The FDA can appeal the decision to the conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the judge has given the federal government seven days to seek relief. The case could eventually reach the Supreme Court.