The Justice Department had asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans for an emergency stay of an abortion pill ruling by a federal judge in Texas while the court hears the case.A federal appeals court will allow partial access to the abortion drug mifepristone while a high-profile federal case plays out, but with new limitations on how the drug can be dispensed.
while the court hears the case. In their request, Justice Department lawyers argued that"the district court upended decades of reliance by blocking FDA's approval of mifepristone and depriving patients of access to this safe and effective treatment, based on the court's own misguided assessment of the drug's safety."
It's unclear how the latest decision will interact with a ruling in a separate federal case in Washington state, filed by attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia who are seeking to preserve access to the pills.