Washington (AFP) - The US Justice Department filed an 11th hour appeal with the Supreme Court Friday to fight restrictions on a widely used abortion pill, in the latest legal salvo over reproductive rights.
The move comes a day after Florida became the latest US state to severely curtail access to abortion in the wake of last year's Supreme Court ruling that ended the constitutional right nationwide.
Taking the fight back to the nation's highest court, the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden urged it to freeze recent lower court rulings that would ban or impose limits on use of the drug mifepristone -- scheduled to take effect at 1:00 am Eastern Time (0500 GMT) on Saturday.
"The lower courts' orders will upend the status quo and scramble the complex regulatory regime governing mifepristone," Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said in a 47-page filing.
"That disruptive result would profoundly harm women, the nation's healthcare system, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), and the public interest."
A conservative federal judge in Texas, Matthew Kacsmaryk ordered a nationwide ban last week on mifepristone in response to a lawsuit by a coalition of anti-abortion groups challenging the FDA's approval of the drug in 2000.
In his decision, the judge adopted language used by abortion opponents, saying mifepristone, which accounts for more than half of all abortions in the United States, was used to "kill the unborn human."
On Wednesday, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said the anti-abortion groups had waited too long to challenge the drug's approval by the FDA but gave them a victory of sorts by imposing restrictions on its use.
The appeals court limited access to mifepristone to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, down from 10, and blocked it from being distributed by mail.
The Justice Department said the initial ruling by Kacsmaryk, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump, was based on a "deeply misguided assessment of mifepristone's safety" and also took issue with the Fifth Circuit's decision.
It asked the Supreme Court, where conservatives wield a 6-3 majority, to stay the appeals court ruling.
The Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to preserve the status quo pending a full hearing at the appelate level, or take the case on itself on an "expedited" basis and hear arguments before the summer recess which begins at the end of June.
'Untenable limbo'
Danco Laboratories, the manufacturer of mifepristone, which it markets under the brand name Mifeprex, asked the Supreme Court in a separate filing to stay the lower courts' rulings pending an appeal, saying they risked creating "regulatory chaos across the country."
The company noted that a separate federal court in Washington state had ruled in response to a suit by 17 Democratic-ruled US states that access to mifepristone should be maintained.
"The result is an untenable limbo, for Danco, for providers, for women, and for health care systems all trying to navigate these uncharted waters," Danco said.
"In the face of this uncertainty, Danco may well be forced to halt operations," the New York-based company said.
More than a dozen US states have passed laws banning or severely restricting abortion since the Supreme Court last year overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that had enshrined the constitutional right to the procedure for half a century.
In the latest development, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill banning most abortions in the southern state after six weeks, before many women even know they are pregnant.
Mifepristone is one component of a two-drug regimen that can be used through the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
It has a long safety record, and the FDA estimates 5.6 million Americans have used it to terminate pregnancies since it was approved.
Polls repeatedly show a clear majority of Americans support continued access to safe abortion, even as conservative groups push to limit access to the procedure -- or ban it outright.
