Key TakeawaysThe Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit that aimed to restrict mifepristone, a key medication abortion drug.The ruling maintains nationwide access to the pill, including through telehealth and mail order.The lawsuit challenged the FDA’s regulatory process and could have upended the way drugs are approved in the U.S.
Key Takeaways
The Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit that aimed to restrict mifepristone, a key medication abortion drug.The ruling maintains nationwide access to the pill, including through telehealth and mail order.The lawsuit challenged the FDA’s regulatory process and could have upended the way drugs are approved in the U.S.
The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously rejected a lawsuit that questioned the Food and Drug Administration’s process in approving mifepristone. The ruling ensures that Americans can continue to access the abortion medication without an in-person visit with a healthcare provider.
The Court’s decision inFDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicinereverses a Texas appeals court order thatblocked the FDA approval of mifepristoneand required in-person prescribing of medication abortion.
The decision also maintains the Food and Drug Administration’s authority to regulate medicines through its approval process.
This was the Supreme Court’s first case on reproductive rights since the conservative-majority court overturned the right to access abortion care underRoe v. Wade.
What This Means for Drug Regulation
Mifepristone has been available in the U.S. since 2000 for medication abortion and miscarriage management. The drug has been available through telehealth and mail order since 2021.
Mail-Order Abortion Access Transcends State Lines
Medications like mifepristone go through a rigorous approval process, and the FDA has tracked the safety of the medication in real-world use since it became available.
If the ruling had stood, it would have been the first time that the use of a drug was limited based on a court order.
The pharmaceutical industry warned that upholding a ruling that challenges regulations for mifepristone could open the door to more legal challenges against other medications.
Danco Laboratories, the manufacturer of Mifeprex, applauded the court’s decision.
Meanwhile, the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group that brought the lawsuit on behalf of the anti-abortion doctors,saidit was “disappointed that the Supreme Court did not reach the merits of the FDA’s lawless removal of commonsense safety standards for abortion drug.”
Upholding the Safety of Mifepristone
Major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, filed anamicus briefdiscussing the safety of mifepristone. They said that less than 0.32% of patients experience adverse events related to the drug and that the risk of death “is almost non-existent.”
There have been more than 630 clinical trials, including 420 randomized controlled studies, involving mifepristone.
Unnecessarily restricting mifepristone would “exacerbate existing inequities in maternal health for women of color, low-income women, and those living in rural areas,” they wrote. “Restricting access to mifepristone will not only jeopardize health, but worsen racial and economic inequities and deprive women of the choices that are at the very core of individual autonomy and wellbeing.”
In February, the medical publisher Sage Publications retracted three studies that found safety issues related to mifepristone use. The Texas judge who initially ruled in favor of theAlliance for Hippocratic Medicinecase cited two of those studies in his decision. The publisher said the studies were retracted due to possible “defects” in the data selection and potential conflicts of interest—some of the authors didn’t disclose their affiliations with anti-abortion advocacy organizations.
How You Can Get the Pill Now
Since the overturn ofRoe v. Wade, the use of medication abortion has grown. By some estimates, it accounts for nearly two-thirds of all abortions.
“When this litigation began in 2022, only 1 in 4 adults knew abortion pills existed—today, that number has doubled,” Kiki Freedman, CEO of Hey Jane, a telehealth clinic that offers medication abortion,said on Instagram.
“If there is one silver lining to this politically motivated effort to curtail access to mifepristone, it’s that even more people are now aware that medication abortion is a safe, effective, discreet, and common option for accessing abortion care,” she added.
Since the fall ofRoe v. Wade, 14 states have imposed abortion bans with limited exceptions, and other states have restricted access to abortion.The use of telehealth services to prescribe and mail abortion pills has improved abortion care access, even for some people living in states with abortion bans. Shield laws in seven states that support abortion allow providers to mail the pills out of state.
Despite today’s ruling, the challenge to mifepristone access may not yet be over. Three states—Idaho, Kansas, and Missouri—tried to intervenein the case against the FDA, but the court didn’t allow them to do so. Those states may attempt to challenge the mifepristone approval through other cases.
The Supreme Court is also hearing another major case about whether emergency rooms in hospitals are required to provide abortions if a woman’s life is in jeopardy and in other urgent situations.
What This Means For YouYou can still access mifepristone so long as your state allows it. Several telehealth clinics allow you to get a prescription for medication abortion without going to a doctor’s office, or you can seek a prescription from your health provider. You can find a breakdown of state restrictions on medication abortion here.
What This Means For You
You can still access mifepristone so long as your state allows it. Several telehealth clinics allow you to get a prescription for medication abortion without going to a doctor’s office, or you can seek a prescription from your health provider. You can find a breakdown of state restrictions on medication abortion here.
2 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.STAT.The fight over medical abortion has worsened pregnancy care.KFF.A review of exceptions in state abortion bans: implications for the provision of abortion services.
2 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.STAT.The fight over medical abortion has worsened pregnancy care.KFF.A review of exceptions in state abortion bans: implications for the provision of abortion services.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
STAT.The fight over medical abortion has worsened pregnancy care.KFF.A review of exceptions in state abortion bans: implications for the provision of abortion services.
STAT.The fight over medical abortion has worsened pregnancy care.
KFF.A review of exceptions in state abortion bans: implications for the provision of abortion services.
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