69 Republicans ask appeals court to allow ban on abortion pill to go forward

A group of 69 Republican members of Congress filed a brief urging an appeals court to uphold the decision of a federal judge in Texas last week that would halt the prescription of a widely used abortion pill, after over 200 congressional Democrats lobbied for a reversal of the ruling.

The House Republicans that signed on were led by Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) and included the likes of Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Col.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.). They argued that the federal government approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, which has been approved for over 20 years, is “unlawful.”

The 11 Republican senators who signed on were led by Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith (Miss.) and included Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Rick Scott (Fla.).

“The FDA’s (Food and Drug Administration) unlawful approval and deregulation of chemical abortion drugs subverts Congress’ public policy considerations and safeguards for patient safety,” the lawmakers said in the brief. 

A federal judge in Texas last week issued a stay that would block the prescription and distribution of mifepristone, giving the federal government a week to appeal the decision before it went into effect. The FDA quickly filed an appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Officials have warned that the decision from the judge in Texas could throw the federal government’s approval of a bevy of medications and vaccines into an upheaval, with courts second-guessing decisions from medical regulators. Democrats have also criticized it as another attack on abortion access from the judiciary.

The GOP lawmakers, who urged the appeals court to allow the stay from the federal judge in Texas to stand, filed their brief after a group of 240 congressional Democrats urged the appeals judge to overturn the decision.

The brief from Democrats, which included 50 senators and 190 House members, argued that the ruling from the district judge in Texas was an “extraordinary and unprecedented step,” arguing the courts have allowed the federal government to delegate regulatory responsibilities for drugs to scientists and medical experts.

“Emergency relief from the order is necessary to mitigate the imminent harm facing members of the public, many of whom rely on the availability of mifepristone for reproductive care — and many more of whom rely on the integrity of FDA’s drug approval process for continued access to life-improving and lifesaving drugs,” the Democratic lawmakers said in their brief to the judge.

But the Republican lawmakers said the decision to block the prescription of mifepristone would “protect women and girls” from what they say are the “harms” of such drugs, asking the appeals court to uphold the decision.

“We urge the Court to deny the emergency motion for a stay pending appeal, which will allow the District Court’s Section 705 stay to go into effect and protect women and girls from the harms of chemical abortion drugs,” the GOP lawmakers said.

Zach Schonfeld contributed.