Mifepristone will continue to be widely available despite ongoing legal challenges. SCOTUS continues to legalize the use of mifepristone in America.
Thanks to
the Supreme Court's decision, women across the nation can still currently get
mifepristone. In a lawsuit involving the Food and Drug Administration's
approval of — and access to — the commonly used abortion drug mifepristone, the
Supreme Court on Friday issued a full stay.
The court's
decision -- a 7-2 vote with Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas
dissenting -- preserves access to mifepristone as the Biden administration and
the pill's manufacturer appeal a lower court ruling that would impose The White
House applauded the stay and vowed to vigorously pursue its legal challenges to
restrictions on the abortion pill.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that "as a result of
the Supreme Court's stay, mifepristone remains available and licensed for safe
and effective usage while we continue our struggle in the courts." "I
still support FDA's evidence-based approval of mifepristone, and my
Administration will continue to uphold FDA's independent, expert authority to
examine, approve, and regulate a broad spectrum of prescription
medications," the spokesperson said.
A few months after Roe v. Wade, a collection of anti-abortion
physicians and organizations, backed by the right-wing legal organization
Alliance Defending Freedom, filed a case in Amarillo, Texas, contesting the
FDA's evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of mifepristone. On April 7, a
judge appointed by Trump, Matthew Kacsmaryk, made a decision in the group's
favour. He claimed that when the FDA approved the medicine in 2000, it went
beyond its legal powers.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals partially
overturned Kacsmaryk's order, but nevertheless placed restrictions that would
preclude patients from receiving mifepristone by mail.
If the federal agency's expertise were
questioned, the Biden administration and Danco Labs, the producer of
mifepristone, warned of potential severe repercussions.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar warned
the Supreme Court in a filing this week that the lower court's orders
"would thwart FDA's scientific judgment and undermine widespread reliance
in a healthcare system that assumes the availability of mifepristone as an
alternative to more taxing and invasive surgical abortions."
The administration's worries, according to
Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents proponents of the abortion pill, are
nothing more than a "sky is falling" rhetoric.
Attorneys for the Alliance Defending Freedom argued briefly to
the court, "If this action involved any other medicine, there would not
even be a dispute as to whether this Court should intervene mid-litigation
stream with exceptional relief."
More than 150 Republican politicians support the conservative plaintiffs in the case, which has polarized the
country. On the other side, Democrats and top medical organizations have
campaigned for the continuing availability of mifepristone.
As the legal dispute progresses, some states
and abortion clinics have been hoarding abortion medications.
Oral arguments in the case will be heard by
the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on May 17.