(Headline USA) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., demanded that the Biden administration ignore a federal court ruling striking down the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, calling it “unfounded.”
Last week, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk directed the FDA to halt its approval of mifepristone while a lawsuit challenging its safety works its way through the courts. He gave the federal government seven days to “seek emergency relief from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit,” which the Biden administration confirms it intends to do.
But several Democrats, including Ocasio-Cortez, have urged the Biden administration to just disregard Kacsmaryk’s decision altogether.
“I believe that the Biden administration should ignore this ruling,” she told CNN. “The interesting thing when it comes to a ruling is that it relies on enforcement. And it is up to the Biden administration to enforce, to choose whether or not to enforce a ruling.”
Ocasio-Cortez went on to describe Kacsmaryk as a “deeply partisan” judge who has “engaged in unprecedented and dramatic erosion of the legitimacy of the courts.”
She doubled down on this claim on Sunday, claiming there is “precedent” for ignoring court orders.
GOP are losing their mind over this, but there’s precedent – including their own.
Courts ordered Trump to fully restore DACA. They ignored it w/ Republican support.
GOP operate in complete contempt for the law until they’re in a position to shred Constitutional & human rights. https://t.co/kfxsdF5eKG
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 9, 2023
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued a similar statement after the court’s ruling on Friday.
“There is no way this decision has a basis in law. It is instead rooted in conservatives’ dangerous and undemocratic takeover of our country’s institutions,” Wyden said. “No matter what happens in seven days, I believe the Food and Drug Administration has the authority to ignore this ruling, which is why I’m again calling on President Biden and the FDA to do just that.”
The FDA, doctors, and pharmacies should “go about their jobs like nothing has changed and keep mifepristone accessible to women across America,” he added.
However, the Biden administration seemed to strike down leftists’ demands on Sunday, arguing that ignoring a federal court ruling would set a dangerous precedent.
“People are rightly frustrated about this decision — but as dangerous a precedent it sets for a court to disregard FDA’s expert judgment regarding a drug’s safety and efficacy, it would also set a dangerous precedent for the administration to disregard a binding decision,” Kamara Jones, spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, said. “We are confident that the law is on our side.”
