The Texas case that could soon upend abortion everywhere
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 March 2023
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today on Post Reports, we take you to an abortion hearing in Amarillo, Tex., that the judge didn’t want you to know was coming.
Read more:
In a four-hour hearing on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk heard arguments in a lawsuit that could restrict access nationwide to the abortion medication mifepristone. The lawsuit alleges that the medication is unsafe, despite being approved and highly regulated by the FDA for decades. However, many antiabortion activists are hopeful that Kacsmaryk will rule against the FDA, because of his strong religious beliefs and previous support of antiabortion organizations.
National political reporter Caroline Kitchener was inside the courtroom for the hearing and explains what she heard and what the implications of the ruling could be.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | So, Caroline, you're in Texas right now. |
| 0:04.6 | Where exactly are you and what are you doing there? |
| 0:07.3 | I'm in Amarillo, Texas, which is a city at about 200,000 people in the Texas Panhandle. |
| 0:15.2 | It's very well known as Stop on Route 66. |
| 0:24.1 | I am here because this is where a judge is hearing a really, really important case for abortion |
| 0:33.9 | pills. |
| 0:34.9 | It's a case that could potentially take Mithapristone. |
| 0:39.0 | That's one of two key abortion medications, totally off the market in the United States. |
| 0:45.9 | Caroline Kitchener is a national reporter covering abortion. |
| 0:49.8 | And this past weekend, Caroline and our colleagues at the Post discovered that this hearing |
| 0:54.6 | was coming this week in Amarillo, Texas. |
| 1:00.6 | This was not what the U.S. District Judge there, Matthew Kazmeric wanted. |
| 1:05.6 | The thing he wanted most was to fly under the radar. |
| 1:09.0 | In fact, he had waited until the very last minute to post the hearing notice. |
| 1:14.9 | He didn't want protests or threats for that matter. |
| 1:18.7 | He didn't want any attention on this super important case. |
| 1:22.8 | Caroline had a different plan. |
| 1:24.8 | She dropped everything and raced down there with a couple of our colleagues, including producer |
| 1:29.4 | Sabi Robinson, who recorded Caroline outside of the courthouse. |
| 1:34.7 | So here we are in Amarillo. |
| 1:36.8 | It's really hard to get to if somebody was just finding out, there was no way that I would |
| 1:43.6 | have been able to get here if I had found out Tuesday night, no way. |
... |
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