Minnesota leaders, advocates to discuss latest court ruling on abortion medication Monday

By KSTP

State lawmakers and abortion rights advocates are meeting Monday to discuss the ruling on an abortion medication in Texas, and its impact on Minnesota.

A conservative-appointed federal judge in Texas suspended the FDA’s approval of the drug Mifepristone, the most widely used abortion medication in the United States.

In Minnesota, lawmakers and advocates held a news conference at 11 a.m. regarding the issue.

The pill is used in more than half of the abortions in the United States, and now there’s a legal battle happening across the country on whether to allow it. If the ruling in Texas stands, Americans in states where abortion is legal wouldn’t have access to the medication, meaning Minnesota would be included.

Since the ruling to suspend the FDA’s approval of Mifepristone, a federal in judge in Washington state issued an injunction to protect the drug’s access. The Justice Department is also appealing the case, sending it to an appeals court in New Orleans.

The Biden Administration is vowing to use every option to preserve Americans’ access to the abortion pill.

Meanwhile, legal experts are predicting the case will likely go all the way to the Supreme Court.

“We’re happy to obtain that preliminary ruling from the district court, but we know obviously this is not the last stage, and the last word on the issue, and we’re ready to go to the next stage, said Erik Baptist of Alliance Defending Freedom, the anti-abortion group that filed the lawsuit.

Leading medical organizations have spoken out, saying the pill is safe.