Abortion pill access case: Judge wants ‘less advertisement’

By SEAN MURPHY and JAKE BLEIBERG
Associated Press

A federal judge overseeing a high-stakes case that could threaten access to medication abortion across the nation asked lawyers for the “courtesy” of not publicizing upcoming arguments. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk said “less advertisement of this hearing is better,” according to the transcript of a telephone status conference last week that was released Tuesday and reveals new details of the move experts say is out of the norm. The closely watched lawsuit challenges the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug mifepristone, which is one of two drugs used in medication abortions. Medication abortions currently account for more than half of the abortions in the U.S.