Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says a federal judge’s decision to halt FDA authorization for the commonly used method of abortion in the U.S. is not based on science. Speaking on CNN Monday, Nessel said politics shouldn’t dictate which medications are legal, including abortion medication mifepristone.
“I can see an entire slew of medications that have been in use for a long time and are incredibly important and impactful to an individual’s healthcare, and just having an individual judge say, ‘I don’t like that medication. Maybe I don’t like the fact that it prevents HIV, or maybe I don’t like the fact that it’s a form of birth control because I’m antibirth control,’” Nessel said. “To substitute a judge’s opinion for that of the medical community, I think is as scary as it gets.”
Nessel said action in a Washington state case, unrelated to the Texas ruling that would stop the use of mifepristone, means the drug will remain available in Michigan and 17 other states for now. The Texas judge issued his decision Friday but ruled it would not take effect for seven days. The Biden administration on Monday asked the New Orleans-based appellate court to extend the pause on the Texas order.
