Decrying the move by a federal judge with “no scientific training,” more than 200 pharmaceutical and medical research companies signed a joint statement warning that the decision by an extremist activist judge in Texas could upend safe medical care, NBC News reports.
The statement criticizes the decision by North Texas District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk to order a national ban on the abortion drug mifepristone, a medication used safely in the United States for 23 years to abort a fetus and for other medical issues. Statistically, mifepristone is safer to use than Tylenol, and the FDA approved its sale over the counter earlier this year.
“The decision ignores decades of scientific evidence and legal precedent,” the statement reads. “Judge Kacsmaryk’s act of judicial interference has set a precedent for diminishing FDA’s authority over drug approvals, and in so doing, creates uncertainty for the entire biopharma industry.”