Federal Judge Halts FDA Approval of Abortion Pill Pending Appeal

A federal judge in Texas has stayed the FDA's approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, but delayed the ruling taking effect for a week, giving the Biden administration time to appeal. The anti-abortion group Alliance Defending Freedom sued the FDA in November over its approval of mifepristone, arguing that the FDA abused its authority by approving mifepristone through an accelerated process for new drugs. Mifepristone has become the central flashpoint in the legal battle over access to abortion since the conservative majority on the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June.