East Central Texas News

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) joined 239 other Democratic members of Congress in submitting an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the case of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  The brief supports the Biden administration’s appeal of the Northern District of Texas ruling that suspends the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, a medication used in abortion care and miscarriage treatment, originally approved for use more than 20 years ago.  

“The district court appears to have second-guessed FDA’s scientific determination with cherry-picked anecdotes and studies, and on that basis, imposed a remedy that could significantly upend the status quo,” the brief reads.

“Its perilous consequences reach far beyond mifepristone,” the brief continues.  “Providers and patients rely on the availability of thousands of FDA-approved drugs to treat or manage a range of medical conditions, including asthma, HIV, infertility, heart disease, diabetes, and more.”

“Emergency relief from the order is necessary to mitigate the imminent harm facing members of the public, many of whom rely on the availability of mifepristone for reproductive care—and many more rely on the integrity of FDA’s drug approval process for continued access to life-improving and life-saving drugs.  Congress intended to—and did—vest authority in FDA to evaluate and ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs in the United States, and Amici call on this Court to give due weight to that intent,” the brief concludes. 

To read the full brief, click here.

Original source can be found here.