Access to abortion pill in limbo after competing rulings

By PAUL J. WEBER, MATTHEW PERRONE and LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Access to the most commonly used method of abortion in the U.S. plunged into uncertainty Friday following conflicting court rulings over the legality of the abortion medication mifepristone that has been widely available for more than 20 years. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ordered a hold on federal approval of mifepristone in a decision that overruled decades of scientific approval. But that decision came as U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice, an Obama appointee, essentially ordered the opposite and directed U.S. authorities not to make any changes that would restrict access to the drug in at least 17 states where Democrats sued in an effort to protect availability.