Conservative federal Texas judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled Friday to end the widely used abortion drug mifepristone. Kacsmaryk's decision came after a number of anti-abortion groups filed a lawsuit to have the national approval of the drug overturned.
Just an hour after the Texas announcement, a federal judge in Washington issued a competing ruling, ordering continued access to the drug in 17 U.S. states.
Mifepristone has been approved in the United States for more than 20 years and is used in a majority of abortions in the country. The two rival rulings make it likely that the question of the pill's future will now be taken to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Decision appealed
Matthew Kacsmaryk's decision to halt approval of the pill will not take effect for seven days. The U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday that it had appealed the decision, as did the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
US President Joe Biden calls the Texas judge's decision on the abortion pill "an unprecedented step towards taking away women's fundamental freedoms and putting their health at risk."
"My administration will fight this decision," Biden said in a statement released by the White House.