美国国家公共电台 NPR--U.S. appeals court preserves partial access to abortion pill, but with tighter rules

U.S. appeals court preserves partial access to abortion¹ pill, but with tighter rules

Transcript²

A federal appeals court will allow partial access to the abortion drug mifepristone while a high-profile federal case plays out, but with new limitations on how the drug can be dispensed³.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit says the drug, used in most medication abortions⁴ in the United States, remains⁵ approved for use up to seven weeks of pregnancy⁶ while the case is being appealed.

Previously⁷, the drug was approved for up to 10 weeks. The ruling also says mifepristone can no longer be sent in the mail at least for now.

The Biden administration says it will appeal the Fifth Circuit's decision to the U.S. Supreme⁸ Court.

Late last week, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk sided with anti-abortion rights groups that sued the Food and Drug Administration over its approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. He issued a ruling that would invalidate the drug's approval beginning this Friday unless the appeals court intervenes.

On Monday, the Department of Justice asked the Fifth Circuit for an emergency stay of Kacsmaryk's decision while the court hears the case. In their request, Justice Department lawyers argued that "the district court upended decades of reliance by blocking FDA's approval of mifepristone and depriving patients of access to this safe and effective treatment, based on the court's own misguided assessment⁹ of the drug's safety."

Mifepristone was approved by the FDA in 2000 and is now used in combination with another drug, misoprostol, in nearly all medication abortions in the United States. Mifepristone was initially¹⁰ approved for medication abortion through seven weeks of pregnancy, but in 2016, the FDA expanded that to 10 weeks.

The appeals court's decision means mifepristone will continue to be at least partially¹¹ available while the case plays out.

It's unclear how the latest decision will interact with a ruling in a separate federal case in Washington state, filed by attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia who are seeking to preserve access to the pills.

In that decision, also issued Friday shortly after Kacsmaryk released his ruling, U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice said the FDA was prohibited from "altering the status quo and rights as it relates to the availability of Mifepristone."

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, one of the leaders of that effort, told NPR he believes it will preserve access to mifepristone for people in those 17 states and D.C., unless a higher court says otherwise.

The Justice Department also filed a motion Monday asking Rice to clarify the meaning of his ruling, given there appears to be "tension" with Kacsmaryk's nationwide injunction.

On Thursday evening, Rice issued an order affirming that for the 17 states and D.C. — the parties in the case before him — access to mifepristone should remain unchanged, regardless of the Texas judge's injunction and the Fifth Circuit's decision. So these cases remain on a collision course.

A Supreme Court decision could clarify the path forward.

Meanwhile, several states led by Democratic governors have begun stockpiling abortion pills — either mifepristone or another drug, misoprostol. Misoprostol is usually used in combination with mifepristone but can be used alone to induce abortion.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee have announced that their states have begun stockpiling mifepristone in the event that access is disrupted. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul say their states are stockpiling tens of thousands of doses of misoprostol.

1 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 dispensed   

v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• Not a single one of these conditions can be dispensed with. 这些条件缺一不可。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage. 他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。