Fetterman, Casey slam federal judge’s ruling against abortion medication

Pennsylvania’s Democratic U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Bob Casey did not mince words when responding to Friday’s ruling by a federal judge in Texas halting the approval of an abortion medication.

“This ruling by a hard-right Trump appointed judge is simply bull(expletive),” Fetterman said in a statement released Saturday morning.

“An ideological judge overturning an FDA decision is dangerous, unprecedented, and extreme,” Casey said in a Saturday morning tweet. “This ruling is a back-door attempt by right-wing politicians to implement a nationwide abortion ban.”

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a longtime abortion rights opponent, stopped the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used for its medication abortion regimen. Mifepristone has been available for more than 20 years.

An ideological judge overturning an FDA decision is dangerous, unprecedented, and extreme. This ruling is a back-door attempt by right-wing politicians to implement a nationwide abortion ban.

— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) April 8, 2023

Kacsmaryk wrote in his opinion that the drug’s improper approval violated federal law.

Abortion rights advocates bristled against the ruling, saying it was simply a way for abortion opponents to ban access nationally after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights last year and returned the decision to states.

“This is nothing more than another attempt by the GOP to take away the rights of women and implement a nationwide abortion ban,” Fetterman said. “Mifepristone remains safe and legal in Pennsylvania. We will fight this, and we will win.”