White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s call for the executive branch to ignore a federal judge’s ruling on an abortion pill sets a “dangerous precedent.”
U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of Texas issued a preliminary injunction that halted the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the abortion pill, mifepristone, in a Friday ruling. Ocasio-Cortez called on President Joe Biden’s administration to “ignore” the ruling in a Friday interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, and argued the injunction threatens the legitimacy of the judiciary.
“The Biden administration should ignore this ruling,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “What they are currently doing is engaged in an unprecedented and dramatic erosion of the legitimacy of the courts. It is the justices themselves, through the deeply partisan and unfounded nature of these rulings that are undermining their own enforcements.”
Jean-Pierre said the administration undermining a judicial ruling causes a “dangerous precedent,” but vowed to challenge the decision.
“We understand the frustration,” Jean-Pierre said. “We get the frustration regarding this decision, absolutely, and that’s why we were quick to act. That’s why you saw DOJ [Department of Justice] take action … we stand by FDA’s approval of mifepristone and we’re prepared to have a long legal fight here. That’s our commitment to women out there, that’s our commitment to Americans across the country. But, I’ll say this. It is dangerous … as a precedent. As a dangerous precedent is set for a court to set aside the FDA’s expert judgement regarding a drug’s safety and efficiency, it would also set a dangerous precedent for the administration to disregard a binding decision.”
“So, that’s what I’m getting to. But again, we are ready to fight, this is going to be a long fight. We understand this,” she added.
The Biden DOJ filed a motion Monday with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing the “extraordinary and unprecedented” motion would “thwart FDA’s scientific judgment and severely harm women.” (RELATED: Democrats Introduce Bill Protecting Abortion Pills After Texas Judge Suspends FDA Approval)
“This harm would be felt throughout the country, given that mifepristone has lawful uses in every State,” the DOJ wrote in its motion. “The order would undermine healthcare systems and the reliance interests of businesses and medical providers.”
Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace echoed Ocasio-Cortez’s remark in a Monday CNN interview. She argued the FDA should ignore the ruling and that the judiciary should not make decisions for the FDA regarding the safety and efficiency of drugs.