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Who is Thomas Rice, the Washington judge who ruled mifepristone is safe? [1]

['Kelsey Ables', 'Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff', 'Kim Bellware']

Date: 2023-04-08

Courts Who is Thomas Rice, the Washington judge who ruled mifepristone is safe? Doses of mifepristone, the abortion pill, and misoprostol, which is taken the day after to cause cramping and bleeding to empty the uterus, at Women’s Reproductive Clinic in Santa Teresa, N.M., on May 7, 2022. (Paul Ratje for The Washington Post)

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On the same day a federal judge in Texas blocked the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, a key abortion medication, U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice in Washington state issued an order prohibiting the FDA from pulling access to the drug — conflicting decisions likely to pressure the FDA and the Biden administration to determine how to enforce them.

Rice, an Obama-appointed judge, ordered the FDA to preserve “the status quo” and retain access in 17 states and D.C. His ruling stands in contrast to that written in Texas by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, a Trump nominee with long-held antiabortion views.

“Based on the public health and administrative considerations at issue in this case,” Rice wrote in a 31-page decision, “ … the public interest favors a preliminary injunction.” He stopped short of ordering a nationwide injunction sought by the plaintiffs, noting that abortion restrictions vary by state.

A Texas judge on April 7 blocked FDA approval of a widely used abortion pill. The decision will likely be appealed and could go to the Supreme Court. (Video: Billy Tucker, Zach Purser Brown/The Washington Post)

Abortion rights groups and the 17 state attorneys general in the case praised Rice’s order, which was largely ignored by antiabortion groups, who were focused on U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s decision in Texas.

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The issue is likely headed to the Supreme Court, which overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

Here’s what you need to know about Rice, who has placed himself in the middle of one of the most contentious issues in the country.

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[1] Url: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/08/washington-judge-abortion-thomas-rice/

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