Mifepristone, also known as RU-486, is a drug often used in combination with misoprostol to perform medical abortion during pregnancy and to control early miscarriage.
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Washington—— Supreme Court A challenge to the abortion pill mifepristone was dismissed on Thursday, meaning the commonly used drug remains widely available.
court consistent findings A group of anti-abortion doctors challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to make birth control pills more accessible does not have legal standing.
Writing for the court, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that while the plaintiffs “sincerely oppose elective abortion and the FDA’s deregulation of mifepristone on legal, moral, ideological and policy grounds, ” But that doesn’t mean they have a federal case.
Plaintiffs have failed to prove they suffered any harm, which means “federal courts are not the right forum to address plaintiffs’ concerns about the FDA’s conduct,” he added.
“Plaintiffs may raise their concerns and objections with the President and FDA during the regulatory process, or with Congress and the President during the legislative process,” Kavanaugh wrote. “They may also express their concerns and objections to their fellow citizens. Their views on abortion and mifepristone, including in the political and electoral process.”
By dismissing the case on this basis, the court avoided ruling on the legal basis for the FDA to lift various restrictions, including those making drugs available by mail, meaning the same issue is likely to come up in 2019 Return to court in the year.
Another regulatory decision means women can still take the pill up to 10 weeks into pregnancy instead of seven.
Likewise, the decision to allow health care providers other than doctors to dispense the pills will remain in effect.
The ruling comes two years after the court’s 6-3 conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion-rights ruling in which conservatives States have triggered a new wave of abortion restrictions.
Mifepristone is part of a two-drug regimen approved by the FDA and is currently the most common form of abortion in the United States.
In fact, 14 states have outright abortion bans, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.
The FDA is backed by the pharmaceutical industry, which warns that any second-guessing of the approval process by untrained federal judges could lead to Creates confusion and hinders innovation.
The legal challenge was brought by doctors and other medical professionals represented by the conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom.
Last year, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas issued a sweeping ruling that completely invalidated the FDA’s approval of the drug, leading abortion rights activists to express doubts that the drug would be available in The nation was banned from panicking.
Last April, the Supreme Court put that ruling on hold, meaning the drug could remain widely available while the lawsuit continues.
In August, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans narrowed Kacsmaryk’s ruling but preserved 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 accepted the Biden administration’s appeal defending the FDA’s later decision, but chose not to hear a challenge to mifepristone’s original approval in 2000.
The Supreme Court focused only on the FDA’s subsequent actions, including its initial 2021 decision finalized last year to make the drug available by mail.
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