Supreme Court preserves access to abortion pill, throwing out pro-life challenge in victory for Biden

The Supreme Court upheld access to the abortion pill mifepristone, dismissing a lawsuit that would have affected abortion access not only in states where abortion is restricted, but also across the country.

It is the conservative court’s first major decision on reproductive rights since it overturned Roe v Wade in 2022 and ended the constitutional right to abortion nationwide.

The country’s highest court ruled that the plaintiffs in the case did not have standing to bring their lawsuit.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh wrote the ruling for a unanimous court.

The group had raised concerns with the drug’s approval by the Food and Drug Administration more than two decades ago.

The ruling is a major setback for anti-abortion groups.

The FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine case involved a group of anti-abortion medical professionals who filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block access to the drug.

The court heard oral arguments in the case in late March, and the court majority appeared ready to reject blocking access or further restricting the widely used abortion pill.

Mifepristone is used in more than half of abortions in the United States and has been used by more than 5.6 million women since its approval in 2000.

The case looked at actions the FDA took to loosen restrictions around the pill in 2016 and 2021, making it easier to obtain nationwide as many states have moved to further restrict abortion since Roe fell in 2022 .

The Supreme Court had to consider two questions: First, whether the group had standing to bring the case and, if so, whether the FDA’s actions to make it easier to obtain the drug are legal.

The majority of Supreme Court justices questioned the plaintiffs’ standing to bring the lawsuit during oral arguments

Erin Hawley of the Alliance Defending Freedom speaks outside the Supreme Court after speaking on behalf of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine

Jessica Ellsworth also argued in court on behalf of Danco, a manufacturer of mifepristone. She warned that the anti-abortion group’s positions would not only impact mifepristone, but could also disrupt the approval of any drug

The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine first challenged the FDA on a number of grounds in November 2022 in the conservative U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk sided with the plaintiffs on April 7, 2023, seeking to block the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. But the Justice Department appealed the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In August 2023, the Fifth Circuit court ruled that some of the pre-2016 restrictions should be reinstated, but the drug should not be withdrawn from the market, and a Supreme Court stay remained in effect.

Mifepristone is used in more than half of all abortions in the United States.

Abortion is also expected to be a top issue in the 2024 presidential election, after the overturning of Roe v Wade played a pivotal role in the midterm elections

Research from the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that studies pro-abortion rights, found that medication abortions in the United States accounted for 63 percent of all abortions last year.

Medicinal abortion is more accessible than procedural abortion. In 2021, 40 percent of facilities offering abortions only offered medication abortions.

The use of telemedicine and the mailing of abortion pills has also increased in recent years. In 2020, only 7 percent of all providers used telemedicine and sent abortion pills by mail. In 2022, 31 percent sent abortion pills in the mail.

While 14 states have had near-total abortion bans since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and more than a handful of additional states have introduced additional restrictions on abortion ranging from six to 18 weeks, several states that still have some access to abortion , further restrictions on medication abortion.

Even though the FDA has relaxed rules to allow additional doctors, such as physician assistants and nurses, to prescribe abortion pills in addition to doctors, 15 states have laws requiring them to be dispensed by a doctor, according to tracking by Guttmacher.

They also found that at least five states require patients to have an in-person visit with a doctor and that at least one state, Arizona, has banned the shipment of abortion pills.

Pro-abortion rights protesters gathered outside the Supreme Court with signs and chants. They warned that the case would impact abortion access not only in states that have banned abortion, but for all 50 states, including those that have expanded access.

Protesters against abortion rights gathered with signs targeting women’s health and arguing that “abortion pills kill.”

Ahead of the decision, abortion rights advocates warned that the Supreme Court’s decision could have national ramifications.

Abortion has been a galvanizing issue since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling and returned the issue of abortion rights to the states.