Center for American Progress

Texas ruling could not only harm women, but also the legitimacy of the judicial branch
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Texas ruling could not only harm women, but also the legitimacy of the judicial branch

Maggie Jo Buchanan addresses the dangerous impacts the decision in Alliance of Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration could have on drug safety in the United States.

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A single federal judge, with apparently no substantive background in science or medicine, appears poised to overrule decades of safety determinations made by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and ban a medicine from use nationwide. Such a decision would be unprecedented, significantly worsening the legitimacy crisis facing the judiciary by signaling to communities across the country that — in America’s courts, at least — drug safety comes second to a judge’s personal politics.

Leading medical groups, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, as well as American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, all strongly disagree that the drug should be banned and affirm its safety. FDA experts have written to the court, explaining a judge should not even be able to ban a medicine outright because of the FDA’s statutory powers that establish both its independence and guardrails for patient access.

The above excerpt was originally published in The Hill. Click here to view the full article.

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Author

Maggie Jo Buchanan

Former Senior Director and Senior Legal Fellow, Women’s Initiative

Team

Women’s Initiative

The Women’s Initiative develops robust, progressive policies and solutions to ensure all women can participate in the economy and live healthy, productive lives.

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