AOC says Biden White House should ignore abortion pill ruling. Can that happen?

New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on President Joe Biden’s administration to ignore a ruling from a federal judge in Texas that suspended the approval of a common abortion pill, mifepristone.

“The executive branch has an enforcement discretion,” Ocasio-Cortez said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, also calling the ruling “a mockery of our democracy and a mockery of our law.”

“This ruling is an extreme abuse of power. It is an extraordinary example of judicial overreach,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Can Biden just ignore the Texas ruling?

Ocasio-Cortez isn’t the only Democrat who says the White House should ignore the ruling.

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said Friday he believes the Biden administration and the Food and Drug Administration have "the authority to ignore this ruling.”

“The FDA, doctors, and pharmacies can and must go about their jobs like nothing has changed and keep mifepristone accessible to women across America. If they don't, the consequences of banning the most common method of abortion in every single state will be devastating,” Wyden said in a statement.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra did not dismiss the possibility of ignoring the court’s ruling.

'Chaos and confusion': Abortion rights advocates across US speak out after latest setback

“Everything is on the table. The president said that way back when the Dobbs decision came out. Every option is on the table,” Becerra said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” referring to the Supreme Court's abortion decision last year.

It’s unclear whether the Biden administration would go to such lengths and ignore the ruling, given the Department of Justice already filed an appeal and a judge in Washington issued a contradictory ruling.

But the possibility of ignoring the ruling does exist, according to Jessica Waters, professor of reproductive rights law at American University. Although the decision suspends FDA approval of mifepristone, it does not force the FDA to enforce the ruling.

"The FDA in the executive branch, they have enforcement authority. So they get to decide whether they would, for example, go after someone who was dispensing or manufacturing mifepristone," Waters told USA TODAY.

At the same time, ignoring the decision is politically risky, Waters said, pointing out that it could set a precedent for future presidents to do the same and ignore unfavorable court decisions. With the Justice Department appeal, Waters said, it is unlikely the Biden administration will decide to flat out ignore the Texas ruling.

Ocasio-Cortez argued that the Trump administration ignored the judiciary in the past when it continued to reject new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, which provides protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, even after the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the program.

“The courts rely on the legitimacy of their rulings,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “We know that the executive branch has an enforcement discretion, especially in light of a contradicting ruling coming out of Washington.”

What happened with mifepristone?

A Trump-appointed judge in Texas, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, issued a ruling that halted the Federal Drug Administration from approving mifepristone, potentially blocking access to medication abortion across the country, the most common method of abortion in the U.S.

At the same time, an Obama-appointed judge in Washington, U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice, issued a ruling that blocked the FDA from limiting the “availability of mifepristone” in several states involved a separate lawsuit.

The two contradictory rulings mean the issue will almost certainly be heard before the Supreme Court, making it the first major abortion case heard before the high court after it overturned the constitutional right to an abortion last summer.

Is the abortion pill mifepristone still available?

As of now, mifepristone remains available at least for the seven days after the ruling. The Department of Justice said Friday that it will appeal Kacsmaryk’s ruling to the 5th Circuit and seek a temporary stay to put the ruling on hold.

“This is not America,” Becerra said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “What you saw by that one judge, in that one court, in that one state, that’s not America.

“America goes by the evidence, America does what’s fair, America does what is transparent and we can show that what we do is for the right reasons. That’s not America,” Becerra continued.

AOC: Supreme Court could institute 'a national abortion ban' if Texas ruling upheld

If the Supreme Court upholds Kacsmaryk’s ruling and blocks access to medication abortion, Ocasio-Cortez left the door open as to whether the Biden administration should ignore the high court.

“Should the Supreme Court do that, it would essentially institute a national abortion ban,” said Ocasio Cortez, noting that multiple states have banned abortion following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“My hope would be that we do not get to that point,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “But once, if we do, I do believe that we must start to push back on our system of checks and balances, which is designed to push back should there be an example of judicial tyranny and judicial overreach.”

Contributing: John Fritze

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AOC calls on Biden to ignore Texas abortion pill ruling