Matthew Kacsmaryk: The Trump-appointed judge overseeing the blockbuster medication abortion lawsuit - CNN

The federal judge overseeing a high-profile challenge to the FDA’s two-decade-old approval of certain drugs used to terminate a pregnancy is a deeply conservative jurist with a proclivity for siding with plaintiffs looking to roll back reproductive and LGBTQ rights or block key Biden administration policies.

But Kacsmaryk himself has also drawn scrutiny for the way he’s handled the matter, with critics taking issue with some highly unusual steps he took to delay making the public aware that a hearing was scheduled in the case for Wednesday.

Kacsmaryk has been flexing his conservative bona fides long before he became a federal judge, with his record on a range of issues on display while he worked for a prominent legal group representing the religious right.

And he has overseen Texas cases challenging vaccine mandates, the gender identity guidance issued by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the administration’s limits on the use of Covid-19 relief funds for tax cuts.

“It’s an utterly nonsensical argument to make because we have every right to file a lawsuit where our clients are injured,” Erik Baptist, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the abortion pill challengers, told CNN.

“Matthew’s confirmation is a major win for religious-freedom practitioners, proving that a principled attorney may zealously advocate for the rights of religious minorities, conscientious objectors, and faith-based ministries without forfeiting the opportunity to serve on the bench,” First Liberty Institute said in a statement.