12/13/2023

SCOTUS to Hear Abortion Pill Case

Since it overturned Roe v. Wade, the court's been besieged by healthcare challenges

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) re-entered the abortion debate, 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 (FDA) 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 when U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a onetime anti-abortion activist, imposed a nationwide ban on mifepristone, declaring that the FDA had improperly approved the drug 23 years ago. Within minutes of that decision, U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice in Washington state issued a contrary ruling. In a case brought by 17 states and the District of Columbia seeking to expand the use of mifepristone, Rice declared that the current FDA rules must remain in place, and noted that in 2015 the agency had approved a change in the dosing regimen that allowed the drug to be used for up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, instead of the earlier seven weeks.

Please select this link to read the complete article from NPR.