TL/DR –
The US Supreme Court will hear a case involving the Biden administration’s efforts to maintain access to the abortion drug mifepristone. The case was brought by anti-abortion doctors and medical associations and could limit how the drug can be obtained, who can prescribe it, and when it can be taken. The Supreme Court intervened in the case earlier, leaving the availability of mifepristone unchanged until a final decision is expected by June, which would have implications nationwide regardless of individual state laws on abortion.
Supreme Court to Evaluate Accessibility of Abortion Pill Mifepristone
The Supreme Court announced it will review the Biden administration’s efforts to maintain accessibility to the abortion pill, mifepristone. It marks the first abortion-related dispute to reach the court since the conservative majority nullified Roe v. Wade last year. The case was initiated by a coalition of doctors and medical groups against abortion rights.
The case could significantly shape how mifepristone is procured, who can prescribe it, and when it’s permissible to use it. The court rejected a separate appeal from the organizations questioning the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) 2000 approval of mifepristone and its generic variant.
The Supreme Court stepped into the case at an earlier phase, preserving the availability of mifepristone pending a final ruling expected by June-end, which could impact abortion access nationwide.
White House Response to Supreme Court Decision
Reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision to review the case, Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, affirmed the Biden administration’s support for the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. She cautioned that upholding a lower court’s ruling limiting the drug’s availability could “undermine the FDA’s scientific, independent judgment and reimpose archaic restrictions on access to safe and effective medication abortion.”
FDA’s Expansion of Mifepristone Access
The lawsuit involves the FDA’s recent efforts to broaden access to mifepristone. As part of a two-drug regimen with misoprostol, mifepristone is used to terminate an early pregnancy. The FDA first approved mifepristone in 2000 and has since relaxed rules around its usage. Over 5 million women have taken the drug since FDA approval, with serious adverse events linked to mifepristone usage being rare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that over half of U.S. abortions are medication abortions.
In November 2022, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and other groups filed a lawsuit in Amarillo, Texas, contesting the FDA’s 2000 approval of mifepristone and subsequent changes to its regulatory framework.
Legal Developments Surrounding Mifepristone
In April, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued a preliminary order blocking the FDA’s 2000 approval of mifepristone and subsequent FDA actions easing its accessibility.
The Justice Department and Danco Laboratories, the maker of mifepristone, petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the 5th Circuit’s decision, which the Biden administration deemed unprecedented.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued in a petition to the high court that the challengers lack legal standing to sue, as they failed to show how they would be harmed by the FDA’s decisions on mifepristone’s accessibility.
As the battle continues, the Biden administration has taken steps to increase the availability of abortion pills. The FDA in January permitted retail pharmacies to dispense mifepristone, while numerous Democratic-led states have enacted laws protecting healthcare providers who prescribe mifepristone in states with stringent abortion laws.
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