Tucked into . “Abortion clinics do not make their own drugs or devices; they order these items from pharmaceutical distribution companies and medical equipment suppliers. Taken to its logical conclusion, Kacsmaryk’s ruling means that all abortions already violate criminal law.”
The Biden administration has filed an appeal of Kacsmaryk’s opinion to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, which is stacked with hard-right Trump appointees. This case will wind up before the Supreme Court sooner rather than later, and some of its conservatives, who did promise this issue would be left to the states, may find it too extreme to endorse.
Still, Kacsmaryk’s resurrection of the Comstock Act shows that overturning Roe was not the end goal of the anti-abortion movement. They will not accept anything less than a full nationwide ban, no matter how much that may upset Republicans squirming about the difficult political position that puts them in when a majority of Americans support abortion rights.
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