Supreme Court Decision on Mifepristone to Come Friday
This comes after a district court in Texas ruled to keep Mifepristone available, but with heavy restrictions.
Women’s access to an abortion pill has been extended1 to Friday by the US Supreme Court as justices debate if restrictions on mifepristone(Mifeprex; Danco Laboratories) should pass.
Justice Samuel Alito signed an order stating the court will come to a decision by Friday night, though a reason for delaying the decision was not provided.
Mifepristone, the most common method of abortion in the United States has been facing potential rollback on FDA approval from abortion opponents in Texas. The FDA approval was initially granted in 2000, with loosened conditions given in recent years such as availability by mail in certain states.
The Biden Administration and Danco Laboratories have expressed that mifepristone access should not be limited while the legal case is processed through the courts, stating chaos will occur for women seeking the drug and providers if limits take effect. One potential limit is a requirement for women to take higher doses of the drug than necessary according to the FDA.
Calls for the Supreme Court to have restrictions take effect immediately have been made by a group representing anti-abortion doctors and medical groups called Alliance Defending Freedom. Abortion opponents have been fighting against medication abortions, which make up over half of all US abortions, since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The suit against abortions was filed in Amarillo, Texas in November 2022. On April 7, 2023, a federal judge issues a ruling to revoke mifepristone’s FDA approval. The ruling was modified less than a week later to allow limited access during the case.
Restrictions include 3 in-person visits with a doctor to receive the drug, and approval only granted through 7 weeks of pregnancy despite the FDA approving it through 10 weeks of pregnancy. However, the FDA was ordered by a federal judge in Washington to preserve mifepristone under current rules in 17 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia.
This article originally appeared on Contemporary OB/GYN.
