White House says ignoring judge’s abortion pill ruling would set ‘dangerous precedent’

The White House said on Monday that it would be a “dangerous precedent” for the administration to ignore a federal judge’s decision last week blocking the sale of an abortion pill.

“But I’ll say this, you know, as a dangerous precedent is set for the court to set aside the FDA’s and expert judgment regarding a drug’s safety and efficiency, it will also set a dangerous precedent for this administration to disregard a binding decision,” White House press secretary Jean-Pierre said at her briefing on Monday. “We are ready to fight this. This is going to be a long fight. We understand this. We stand by FDA approval of mifepristone.”

Jean-Pierre’s comments came after a federal judge in Texas ruled on Friday to suspend the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, a drug that can be used in tandem with another to induce an abortion. Though it isn’t set to take effect for a week, the decision virtually bans the sale of the pills across the country.