Mifepristone tablets used for medical abortion will continue to be available in the US for the time being, albeit with significant restrictions, including the requirement to take the drug after a doctor’s visit.

A federal appeals court in New Orleans has decided to suspend enforcement of certain decisions of Amarillo Texas Judge Matthew Kaczmarek. On Friday, he ruled that the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) license for mifepristone should be federally suspended pending an appeal by anti-abortion groups seeking a federal ban.

However, the appeals court upheld some of Kaczmarek’s restrictions, such as requiring women to visit a doctor in person three times to get their medicine. At the same time, the period during which mifepristone can be used has been reduced from the 10th week of pregnancy, which has been in force so far, to the 7th.

Also last Friday, another federal judge asked the FDA to keep mifepristone available without new restrictions in 17 states and the District of Columbia.

The two conflicting decisions are interim, meaning they will remain in effect until appeals have been made to the courts, which are expected to be challenged.

The lawsuit Kaczmarek is considering was filed in November by four anti-abortion groups seeking to revoke a 22-year-old FDA approval for mifepristone. They argue that the agency did not follow due process and did not properly consider the drug’s safety when used by girls under 18 years of age.

Mifepristone was approved in 2000 for use in combination with another drug, misoprostol, to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester of pregnancy. It is also used for miscarriages and other gynecological diseases.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, at least half of the abortions in the US are done with drugs rather than surgery. According to the same source, mifepristone is used in most medical abortions in the US.

Abortion providers across the country are preparing to switch to a different medical abortion protocol based on misoprostol alone. This protocol is not approved by the FDA, but is widely used throughout the world.

Hundreds of pharmaceutical and biotech executives signed an open letter on Monday calling for Kaczmarek’s decision to be reversed, saying it undermines the FDA’s credibility and ignores decades of scientific evidence about the drug’s safety.

In addition, some states with Democratic governors, such as Washington state, have begun stockpiling mifepristone.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters.