Conservative TX judge is deciding whether to halt abortion meds in US

Boxes of mifepristone, the first pill given in a medical abortion, are prepared for patients at Women's Reproductive Clinic of New Mexico in Santa Teresa, U.S., January 13, 2023.

Boxes of mifepristone, the first pill given in a medical abortion, are prepared for patients at Women's Reproductive Clinic of New Mexico in Santa Teresa, U.S., January 13, 2023. Photo by REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo.

In Texas today, a federal judge heard a case that could undo the Food and Drug Administration’s decades-old approval of mifepristone. It’s one of the drugs used in medication abortions — the most common way to end a pregnancy these days. The approval is being challenged by anti-abortion groups, who've been accused of shopping their case around to find a judge sympathetic to their arguments. 

Credits

Guest:

  • Michele Goodwin - professor of constitutional law and global health policy at Georgetown University

Host:

Madeleine Brand

Producers:

Sarah Sweeney, Angie Perrin, Michell Eloy, Amy Ta, Brian Hardzinski, Bennett Purser, Marcelle Hutchins