In the state of California, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) has stockpiled over 2 million abortion pills out of fear that a judge’s recent ruling could halt the further production of such pills.
Just The News reports that Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Texas, ruled last week that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had improperly approved the production of the drug mifepristone, an abortifacient pill. While the Biden Administration is appealing Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling, Newsom has taken his own steps to prepare for the implications of such a ruling on other abortion pills, creating the stockpile of another abortion pill known as misprostol.
“We will not cave to extremists who are trying to outlaw these critical abortion services,” Newsom said in an announcement on Monday. “Medication abortion remains legal in California.”
Misoprostol is used in conjunction with mifepristone, the drug affected by Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling, to terminate a pregnancy through 10 weeks of gestation. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has said that misoprostol by itself can still be used to effectively terminate a pregnancy, while the FDA has not given such approval for the drug’s solo use.
The Biden Administration’s appeal is expected to bring the case all the way to the Supreme Court for a final decision.