Justice Department asks appeals court to stop ruling that would halt approval of abortion pill

The Justice Department on Monday asked a federal appeals court to pause a lower court decision that would halt approval of the abortion medication mifepristone. 

The Justice Department filed its request with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just days after U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Texas-based Trump appointee, issued a ruling putting access to mifepristone in question when he said the pill was not properly approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

"If allowed to take effect, the court’s order would thwart FDA’s scientific judgment and severely harm women, particularly those for whom mifepristone is a medical or practical necessity," the Justice Department wrote about Kacsmaryk's ruling that would stop approval of the abortifacient, according to The Associated Press.

The federal agency also said that the ruling was "extraordinary and unprecedented."

Kacsmaryk's decision came at nearly the same time a different federal judge in Washington state said in another lawsuit that officials should not make any changes in regulations regarding the abortion drug.

The Justice Department also asked the federal court in Washington state to clarify the ruling since it was issued within 20 minutes of the Texas decision.

Mifepristone was approved by the FDA in 2000, and it is one of two drugs necessary for an abortion via pill.