Paul Kirby reports in the Daily Freeman that after a Texas judge ruled April 7 that it knows better than the Food and Drug Administration and effectively removed approval of the most commonly used method of abortion in the U.S, Ulster County-based Rep. Pat Ryan re-introduced a bill on April 10 which would reaffirm that the FDA, “has clear and pre-emptive authority to regulate abortion medication” and “not extremist courts.” But unless he can convince several Republicans to vote in committee and on the floor for his bill, it won't go anywhere in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. Ryan originally introduced the bill last fall, when the Democrats controlled the House and he represented the 19th Congressional District. Now Ryan represents the 18th Congressional District, and the Republican majority leaves him virtually powerless to pass legislation to make mifepristone accessible to women in New York and elsewhere. “Mifepristone is a safe and effective medication that has been prescribed by doctors … over two decades since the FDA approved it. However, the Texas decision has nothing to do with science or medicine and everything to do with radical groups whose only goal is a national abortion ban,” Ryan said. “My priority is protecting abortion access for women in New York and across the country. This legislation will reaffirm the FDA’s approval authority and protect doctors who use telemedicine to prescribe medication abortion.” Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.