The abortion pill, mifepristone, which was first approved in the US in 2000, will continue to be widely available in the country as the ongoing appeals process takes place, the Supreme Court has ruled. Mifepristone has been commonly used in half of all American abortions and miscarriage care for over the past two decades.
However, approval for the drug by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) was challenged by doctors and medical groups claiming it is “unsafe”, and on 7 April, a Texas federal district court halted that approval, reports the Jurist.
Less than a week later, the ruling was partially blocked on appeal, with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the drug would remain available on a limited basis pending the legal dispute.
The latter decision permitted partial access to the abortion drug, albeit with new restrictions, in particular, limiting its use to up to seven weeks of pregnancy and disallowing mail distribution.
The case is due to return to the Fifth Circuit for oral argument next month.
Judges Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito disagreed with the ruling, the former saying he would have denied the application for stays, and the latter providing a dissenting opinion from the grant of applications for stays.
Thomas provided no further argument. Alito argued that the applicants had failed to demonstrate the likelihood of irreparable harm and accused the FDA of leveraging court injunctions to evade agency procedures and judicial review.
President Joe Biden has lauded the decision and vowed to continue to advocate for women’s reproductive rights:
“Mifepristone remains available and approved for safe and effective use while we continue this fight in the courts,” he said. “I stand by FDA’s evidence-based approval of mifepristone, and my administration will continue to defend FDA’s independent, expert authority to review, approve, and regulate a wide range of prescription drugs.”
The government has criticised the lower courts’ rulings in this case, and on 13 April, the Justice Department issued a statement vowing to seek emergency relief “to defend the FDA’s scientific judgment and protect Americans’ access to safe and effective reproductive care”.
This comes amid conflicting rulings, with anti-abortion rights groups challenging the FDA’s approval and 17 states, along with the District of Columbia, fighting to preserve access to the medication.
The same day the federal district court ended the FDA’s approval, another judge in Washington State ordered the FDA to maintain the drug’s availability in 17 states and the District of Columbia.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
US abortion pill duel intensifies
Canada’s benign experience with normally prescribed abortion pill mifepristone
UK to allow women to take abortion pill at home