Supreme Court to hear abortion pill case

The U.S. Supreme Court reentered the abortion debate Wednesday, agreeing to review a lower court decision that would make mifepristone, the commonly used abortion pill, less accessible.

The court’s action sets up a collision between the Food and Drug Administration’s 23-year study and supervision of the abortion pill, and the circumstances under which it can be prescribed. Mifepristone was first approved by the FDA in 2000; the agency required the drug to be prescribed in person, over three visits to a doctor. Since 2016, however, the FDA has eased that regimen, allowing patients to obtain prescriptions through telemedicine appointments, and to get the drug by mail.

The clash over the abortion pill began April 7 in Texas…

While the court considers the case, the medication will remain available as it has been.

The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine argues they have the authority to bring the case because “FDA always envisioned that emergency room doctors…would be a crucial component of the mifepristone regimen.” Because they would suffer if they have to treat patients who have taken medication abortion, they argue they should have the right to challenge the medication’s safety.

The Biden administration counters that the group failed to show “any evidence of injury from the availability” of the medication.

Danco, the maker of abortion pill Mifeprex, is on the government’s side. It says the key question in the case is whether courts can “overrule an agency decision they dislike.”

The group challenging the FDA claims that when the agency made the drugs more accessible, they exceeded their power and regulatory safeguards.

On the other hand, the government says that the drug has been deemed “safe and effective” since 2000.

The Fifth Circuit’s decision “threatens to undermine the FDA’s scientific, independent judgment and would reimpose outdated restrictions on access to safe and effective medication abortion,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “This Administration will continue to stand by FDA’s independent approval and regulation of mifepristone as safe and effective.”

The case will be heard this term, with a decision likely by summer.

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