U.S. Supreme Court’s Alito temporarily blocks abortion pill curbs
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito yesterday temporarily halted lower court rulings that set limits on access to the abortion pill mifepristone, giving the nation’s top judicial body time to weigh a bid by President Joe Biden’s administration to defend the drug amid a challenge by anti-abortion groups.
The action by the conservative justice, who handles emergency matters arising from a group of states including Texas, freezes the litigation and maintains the current availability of mifepristone pending a further order from himself or the entire court.
The U.S. Justice Department and Danco Laboratories, the pill’s manufacturer, filed emergency requests earlier on Friday asking the justices to freeze an April 7 preliminary injunction by Texas-based U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk that would greatly restrict mifepristone’s distribution while litigation contesting its federal regulatory approval proceeds.
Alito acted just hours before the restrictions were due to have taken effect. He directed the challengers to respond by Tuesday to the requests by the Justice Department and Danco, while delaying the restrictions from taking effect until 11:59 p.m. EDT (0359 GMT) on Wednesday. The court would be expected to issue another order on the issue by that time.
BRASILIA, (Reuters) - A judge on Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to testify before federal police within 10 days about his role in the Jan. 8 storming of government buildings by his supporters.
According to a document seen by Reuters, Justice Alexandre de Moraes agreed to a request filed by the country’s top public prosecutor, who said Bolsonaro’s testimony was an “indispensable” step to be able to clarify what happened.
Supporters of far-right
Bolsonaro invaded and vandalized Brazil’s Congress, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court a week after leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office, protesting his victory in the October election and calling for a military coup.
Bolsonaro has denied any responsibility for the riots which recalled the 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
He has argued that he was out of the country in self-imposed exiled in Florida, where he flew two days before his term ended without ever conceding defeat.
His critics say he instigated the riots by inflaming his supporters with attacks on Lula and by repeatedly criticizing Brazil’s voting system, which he claimed was open to fraud, though he never provided proof.
Bolsonaro returned to Brazil in March but faces legal investigations into his attacks on the voting system and alleged role in encouraging supporters to storm Brasilia on Jan. 8.