Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said on Sunday that a Texas judge’s ruling that the FDA’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone was improper is a ruling that does not represent America…

“America goes by the evidence. America does what’s fair. America does what is transparent and we can show that what we do is for the right reasons,” Becerra said. “That’s not America.”

The Biden administration has already filed an appeal to the Texas ruling, which came out the same day that a federal judge in Washington state ruled that the FDA had placed overly burdensome regulations on the abortion pill. The existence of contradictory rulings has led to questions about what, if anything, can be enforced in the near-term — a situation that is likely to wind up at the Supreme Court.

Becerra warned that this case not only affected the most common method of abortion in the country but could also affect other drugs that the FDA has approved or might still approve.

“First and foremost, when you turn upside down the entire FDA approval process, you’re not talking about just mifepristone,” he said. “You’re talking about every kind of drug. You’re talking about our vaccines, you’re talking about insulin, you’re talking about the new Alzheimer’s drugs that may come on…”

“If a judge decides to substitute his preference, his personal opinion for that of scientists and medical professionals, what drug isn’t subject to some kind of legal challenge?” Becerra said. “So we have to go to court — and for America’s sake, and for women’s sake, we have to prevail on this.”

The creeps and cretins who now own the Republican Party continue their open warfare on science and society. Sad but true.

If you are willing to look to science, education and regulation to govern…instead of religious rulebooks long outdated…unfortunately, you still have to spend time fighting for that standard in the United States.

IN ADDITION:

Statement from Jack Resneck Jr., MD
President, American Medical Association

“Today’s court decision from a federal district court in Texas staying longstanding approval of mifepristone flies in the face of science and evidence and threatens to upend access to a safe and effective drug that has been used by millions of people for more than 20 years. The court’s disregard for well-established scientific facts in favor of speculative allegations and ideological assertions will cause harm to our patients and undermines the health of the nation. By rejecting medical facts, the court has intruded into the exam room and has intervened in decisions that belong to patients and physicians. The court’s rebuff of scientific facts also undermines informed decisions, erodes trust in institutions, exacerbates social divides, and places individual and collective health at risk.

“Additionally, this decision introduces the extraordinary, unprecedented danger of courts upending longstanding drug regulatory decisions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Doing so goes against the established scientific process that leads to those decisions and puts other drugs at risk of being subject to similar efforts. Substituting the opinions of individual judges and courts in place of extensive, evidence-based, scientific review of efficacy and safety through well-established FDA processes is reckless and dangerous…

“We will continue to support access to evidence-based health care, including abortion medication, and oppose intrusions that undermine our patients’ health.”