Widely used medication abortion method hangs in balance, with case likely headed to U.S. Supreme Court
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that access to the abortion pill mifepristone should be restricted, although the pill will remain widely available for now as the case moves through the appeals process.
In loosening restrictions on mifepristone access over the years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration “failed to address several important concerns about whether the drug would be safe for the women who use it,” Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod wrote in the opinion, adding that the FDA failed to gather evidence showing that mifepristone could be used safely without being prescribed and dispensed in person.
“There is scientific consensus on the exemplary safety and efficacy of mifepristone,” the Center for Reproductive Rights, a legal advocacy group, said in a tweet Wednesday, adding that “unscientific restrictions will harm millions of the most vulnerable pregnant people in the U.S.” The case originated with anti-abortion advocacy groups and doctors who challenged the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, which is part of a two-drug regimen used in nearly all medication abortions in the U.S. A Texas district court judge in April suspended mifepristone’s approval. The Biden administration then appealed to the Fifth Circuit, which partially blocked the lower court’s decision but left in place parts of the ruling overturning FDA changes that expanded access to the drug.
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