A three-judge panel comprising Judges聽James Ho and Cory Wilson, appointed by then-President Donald Trump, and Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, appointed by then-President George W. Bush, on Wednesday appeared to support claims that the conscience and religious rights of anti-abortion physicians are harmed by the FDA鈥檚 nearly 23-year-old approval of mifepristone.
Ho rebuffed attorneys for the Department of Justice and Danco Laboratories, a maker of mifepristone, urging a focus on 鈥渢he facts of this case鈥� rather than 鈥渢his sort of 鈥楩DA can do no wrong鈥� theme.鈥� He questioned whether the FDA erred in approving the medication through an expedited process typically reserved for treatments for serious illnesses. 鈥淧regnancy is not a serious illness鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen we celebrated Mother鈥檚 Day, were we celebrating illness?鈥�
麻豆女优 Health News senior correspondent Sarah Varney joined PBS NewsHour鈥檚 Geoff Bennett and聽Stephen Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law,聽to discuss the legal arguments that piqued the judges鈥� interest and how the case could affect the availability of mifepristone around the country.