‘Stunningly cynical’: far-right group hand-picks Trump judge to block abortion pill

The far-right group seeking to overturn the FDA's approval of the abortion drug mifepristone has hand-picked a controversial Trump-appointed judge in Texas to rule on their argument.

"The anti-abortion group behind the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade has now filed a federal lawsuit seeking to reverse the approval of the abortion drug, mifepristone," Jezebel reported. "The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)—representing four Texas doctors and four anti-abortion groups—sued both the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, claiming that the FDA exceeded its authority when it approved mifepristone in 2000."

The location of the lawsuit is important.

"The group filed the suit in Amarillo, Texas, which is notable in itself," Jezebel reported. "As University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck has pointed out, suits filed there have a 95 percent chance of drawing an ultraconservative Trump-appointed judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk. This is the same judge who recently threw out anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people seeking healthcare and who, in 2021, said the Biden administration had to resume Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suits in Amarillo against the Biden administration at least 20 times."

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Vladeck explained the significance on Twitter.

"Another day, another transparent effort by conservatives to exploit Texas’s single-judge divisions," Vladeck wrote. "By filing this case (with obvious nationwide implications) in Amarillo, Texas, there is a *100% chance* that the plaintiffs will draw (Trump-appointed) Judge Kacsmaryk."

"Just to be clear on what this means, Alliance Defending Freedom is asking a hand-picked, Trump-appointed district judge in Amarillo to effectively block legal access to Mifepristone on a nationwide basis," Vladeck wrote. "Stunningly important — and stunningly cynical."