(Washington) The use of the abortion pill remains temporarily authorized in the United States, but under more drastic conditions than before, according to a judgment rendered Wednesday evening by a federal appeals court.
A three-judge panel of this appeals court, based in New Orleans, decided by two votes to one to maintain the authorization of the pill, but with stricter rules.
To access it, you now need three visits to the doctor during the prescription period, which will be limited to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, compared to ten previously.
This pill was authorized by the American drug administration (FDA) more than twenty years ago and is used for more than half of the abortions carried out in the United States.
But last Friday, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, overturned the drug’s FDA approval.
Soon after, a Washington judge ruled in a separate case that possible access to the abortion pill should be maintained.
The two federal court judges who voted for the increased restrictions, Kurt Engelhardt and Andrew Oldham, were appointed by Donald Trump, while the one who voted against, Catharina Haynes, was put in place by ex-President George W. Bush.
The twist comes nearly a year after the conservative-dominated Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade, who had upheld the right of women to abortion in the United States for half a century.
