BREAKING: Republicans suffer a crushing setback as a U.S. district judge strikes down some of North Carolina's crippling restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone. But it gets even better... The judge granted a partial victory to the plaintiff Amy Bryant, a physician who bravely decided to sue the state over the crippling regulations. U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles struck down the requirement that the drug be prescribed only by doctors and in person as well as the stipulation that patients go to a followup appointment in-person. Eagles correctly pointed out that these draconian requirements conflict directly with federal law because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration previously considered them before outright rejecting them. For now, the other restrictions — which have not been formally rejected the FDA — will remain in place. They include requiring in-person consultation three days before an abortion procedure, an in-person examination, and an ultrasound before the drug can be prescribed. "The Court finds and concludes that to the extent North Carolina law imposes safety restrictions on the distribution of the drug that the FDA has implemented and then later affirmatively rejected and removed, those laws frustrate the congressional goal of establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework under which the FDA determines conditions for safe drug distribution that do not create unnecessary burdens on the health care system or patient access," wrote the judge. "Republican legislators enacted the law to control, not protect, women. I'll keep fighting to protect women's freedoms," said the state's Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, who refused to defend the restrictions. This is not some small battle in the larger war for abortion rights. This is crucial. Medical abortion accounted for over 60% abortions in the U.S. last year. If Republicans succeed in banning these medications, the consequences will be devastating for women. Please retweet and ❤️ if you support full and unfettered access to abortion medication — and consider joining the growing exodus to Tribel, a new pro-democracy social network that is exploding in popularity because Twitter and Facebook are trying to stop its growth — which is only making Tribel grow even faster. Please follow us on Tribel to get all of our breaking news alerts sent straight to your phone or computer by clicking the following link: tribel.app.link/okwPIHYCIqb