The crusade of the American Christian right against abortion is intensifying. A federal judge announced Friday to suspend the marketing authorization in the United States of mifepristone (RU 486), one of the two pills needed for medical abortions, which in practice prevents its prescription. Its ruling affects the entire country, including states protecting the right to abortion, and affects the approximately 500,000 women who use the abortion pill each year.

The magistrate, however, said he gave the Biden administration a week to appeal this decision, which it immediately did. At the same time, a judge in Washington state ordered the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to continue prescribing mifepristone. Faced with these two contradictory decisions, the Supreme Court, which last summer reversed Roe v. Wade, which has allowed conservative states to ban or strictly limit abortion, could be brought to play the role of referee.

"Erotic desires of adults"

Justice Matthew Kacsmaryk is known for his ultraconservative views: before his appointment by Donald Trump, he was a lawyer in a Christian anti-abortion organization. In 2015, he regretted in an editorial that fetuses "take second place to the erotic desires" of adults.

On 67 pages, the judge validates most of the arguments in the complaint filed in November by a coalition of doctors and anti-abortion organizations against the US Drug Administration (FDA).

Like them, it takes up studies on the risks attributed to the abortion pill, although they are considered negligible by the majority of the scientific community. He also accuses the FDA of failing to follow its procedures in order to meet a political objective.

Fight before the Supreme Court in sight

It is likely that the federal government of President Joe Biden will quickly appeal its decision, which will then be urgently reviewed by a Court of Appeals located in New Orleans, also known for its conservatism. The case should therefore quickly end up before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Deeply overhauled by Donald Trump, it had granted in June a historic victory to opponents of abortion by removing the constitutional right to terminate one's pregnancy, which gave back its freedom to each state to legislate on the matter. Since then, about fifteen have banned abortions on their soil.

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