The issue of abortion is back at the Supreme Court, but the case is about more than that. The justices will hear arguments about the FDA's approval of the abortion medication mifepristone, and the court's decision could drastically change the drug's availability and the FDA's authority.

United States Supreme Court Building

The Supreme Court is poised to hear a case focusing on the abortion medication mifepristone, examining the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of the drug. This case re-engages the court with the contentious issue of abortion, extending beyond the limits of reproductive rights to implications for the FDA's regulatory authority. The outcome of the court's decision has the potential to significantly alter the availability of mifepristone and could impact the FDA's role in drug approval processes.



Supreme Court to hear case on abortion pill

Since 2000, Mifepristone has been an FDA-approved drug used to induce an abortion in the early weeks of pregnancy. After reviewing usage and safety data, the FDA updated the guidelines in 2016 and again in 2021. First, it allowed the use up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy, and then it removed the in-person requirement. That opened the door to telehealth appointments and allowing patients in some states to receive Mifepristone in the mail. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine opposes abortion access and filed a lawsuit to block Mifepristone from the market. The suit argues the FDA removed key safeguards it originally thought necessary to ensure Mifepristone's safe use. The FDA says medical evidence and studies prove the safety and effectiveness of Mifepristone under the updated guidelines, but the lower courts sided with the Alliance. Opponents of those rulings argue this case isn't just about Mifepristone, but it's also about the judges undermining the scientific expertise of the FDA. I would like to see a clear statement that, you know, best-case scenario, FDA is the scientific arbiter here and their evaluation really shouldn't be second-guessed in the courts. That's not the court's job. Tuesday's case before the Supreme Court is considering a preliminary injunction, not a final ruling from the lower courts. So depending on how the justices rule, this case could be far from over. We've started in district court on a preliminary injunction. We've gone up to the Fifth Circuit. Now we're up in the Supreme Court. And we've already done this ping-pong with the stay motions and the emergency proceedings. And depending on what the Supreme Court says, we may just be kind of looping around back to the district court for further consideration. The Supreme Court put a hold on the lower court's injunctions. So for now, mifepristone can be used up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy and without needing an in-person appointment if state laws are in agreement. But that could change when the high court rules this time around, and that opinion will come down sometime over the next three months. Stephanie Liebergen, Scripps News, Washington.

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