(Scypre.com) – The recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court to keep the abortion pill mifepristone widely available has caused a significant impact on the ongoing debate over reproductive rights. The decision is a setback for anti-abortion advocates who had hoped to restrict access to the pill. The court found that the group of anti-abortion doctors who challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to make it easier to access the pill did not have the legal standing to sue.
President Joe Biden expressed his relief at the ruling, stating that while the pill can remain easily accessible, the fight for reproductive freedom continues. He emphasized that a woman’s right to get the treatment she needs is still at risk in many states.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the court, explained that while the plaintiffs have objections to elective abortion and the FDA’s relaxed regulation of mifepristone, that does not give them the right to a federal case. The court found that the plaintiffs failed to show they had suffered any injury, making it clear that the federal courts are not the right forum for addressing the plaintiffs’ concerns about the FDA’s actions.
The legal challenge was brought by doctors and other medical professionals who were represented by the conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom. The court avoided making a decision on whether the FDA acted lawfully in lifting various restrictions, including one making the drug obtainable via mail. This means the same issues could return to the court in another case.
The court’s decision to roll back abortion rights two years ago led to new abortion restrictions in conservative states. The Supreme Court is still playing a significant role in the ongoing debate over abortion access. Abortion rights supporters were relieved by the ruling, while anti-abortion groups expressed disappointment.
The outcome of this year’s election between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump could impact the future of mifepristone and other abortion-related issues. If Trump were to win the election, his appointees to the FDA would be in a position to impose new restrictions on mifepristone. Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chavez-Rodriguez, warned that if Trump is elected, his advisers and allies would try to ban abortion nationwide and restrict access to contraception.
The mifepristone dispute is not the only abortion case currently before the court. It is also due to decide whether Idaho’s strict abortion ban prevents doctors in emergency rooms from performing abortions when a pregnant woman is facing dangerous complications. Mifepristone is used as part of a two-drug FDA-approved regimen that is now the most common form of abortion in the United States.
Abortion is effectively banned altogether in 14 states, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that backs abortion rights. The FDA had the backing of the pharmaceutical industry, which warned that any second-guessing of the approval process by untrained federal judges could cause chaos and deter innovation.
Last year, Texas-based U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued a sweeping ruling that completely invalidated the FDA’s approval of the pill, leading to panic among abortion-rights activists that it would be banned nationwide. The Supreme Court last April put that ruling on hold, meaning the pill remained widely available while litigation continued.
The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in August then narrowed Kacsmaryk’s decision but left in place his conclusion that the FDA’s move to lift restrictions starting in 2016 was unlawful.
Both sides appealed to the Supreme Court. The court in December took up the Biden administration’s appeal in defense of the later FDA decisions, but it opted against hearing the challenge to the original approval of mifepristone in 2000.
The Supreme Court focused solely on the later FDA action, including the initial 2021 decision that made the drug available by mail, which was finalized last year. As the debate over reproductive rights continues, the Supreme Court’s decisions will continue to have a significant impact on the accessibility of abortion and related treatments.