In an wildly unprecedented ruling on April 7, Trump-appointed federal judge Matthew Kascmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, ordered the FDA to withdraw its decades-old approval of mifepristone nationwide, the first time a judge has ever attempted to overrule the FDA. Mifepristone is used in more than 50% of abortions in this country. The drug is also used for management of miscarriages. Saying no one should sit back and wait to see what happens next, abortion rights and reproductive justice activists called for actions on April 10. Demonstrations were held in three Bay Area cities: San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Jose.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals then scaled back the Kascmaryk ban on April 13, but issued new restrictions on mifepristone, reducing the number of weeks into a pregnancy it could be used and forbidding its shipment by mail. On April 15, a national day of action, demonstrators in Scottsdale, Arizona, protested in front of the headquarters of Alliance Defending Freedom, the right-wing lawers designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center that filed the lawsuit in Amarillo. Locally, protests were held in Sacramento, Half Moon Bay, Mountain View, Santa Cruz, Oakland, and other cities.

On April 21, the U.S. Supreme Court extended the stay against any mifepristone bans or restrictions, sending the issue back to the Fifth Circuit for further deliberations. While this is seen as at least a temporary victory, defenders of reproductive justice rights say that extremists will continue try to ban abortion at the federal level and the fight is far from over.

April 22:
SCOTUS decision is NOT the one we Needed! Hit the Streets!

April 21:
In Shadow Docket Decision, Supreme Court Refuses to Rule on Mifepristone Ban

April 15:
Alliance Defending Freedom is a Hate Group | Protesters in Mountain View Say Abortion Pill is Safer than Viagra | It's About More than Mifepristone | Song: The Abortion Pill Mifepristone-You Can't Stop It!

April 10:
Three Same Day Protests in SF Bay Area in Reaction to Ruling on Abortion Bill | Emergency Rally: Hands Off Abortion Pill | The abortion pill must not be banned! | Emergency Protest: Hands Off the Abortion Pill Now!

Event Announcements:
Abortion Rights: Nationwide Protests to Demand & Defend Abortion Pill Access | Call to Action: Protect Medication Abortion Access - Virtual Rally & Teach-In | Oakland Mife Rally | Half Moon Bay: #AbortionRights Rally - We Won't Go Back! | Monterey: Bigger Than Roe! Protest Against Ruling to Ban Abortion Pill | Sacramento: Rage Revival - More than Mifepristone March & Rally for Abortion Rights | Santa Cruz: Protest March to Fight For Abortion Access | Mountain View: Protest Judicial Ban of Abortion Pill | Protest Illegitimate Banning of the Abortion Pill | Protest the federal ban on abortion medication!

Related Feature:
Renewed Sense of Urgency Driving Reproductive Rights Actions