Supreme Court preserves access to abortion pill mifepristone while courts litigate legality

The Supreme Court issued a decision on Friday that will preserve access to the abortion pill mifepristone while lower courts litigate the legality of the use of mifepristone after the removal of safeguards by the FDA.

The battle over the use of mifepristone began when the Biden administration authorized the distribution of the pill via mail prompting pro-life groups to launch federal lawsuits.

Since then, the lower circuit courts have been battling over the abortion pill's legal status and the Supreme Court has gotten involved as well. The legal battle has devolved into an exchange of stay requests between circuit courts and the Department of Justice.

Erik Baptist, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, reacted to the decision by saying, "As is common practice, the Supreme Court has decided to maintain the status quo that existed prior to our lawsuit while our challenge to the FDA’s illegal approval of chemical abortion drugs and its removal of critical safeguards for those drugs moves forward. Our case seeking to put women’s health above politics continues on an expedited basis in the lower courts."

While the Biden administration is celebrating this decision as a win, the ruling was a procedural one and will have little impact on the final outcome.

Baptist continued by saying, "The FDA must answer for the damage it has caused to the health of countless women and girls and the rule of law by failing to study how dangerous the chemical abortion drug regimen is and unlawfully removing every meaningful safeguard, even allowing for mail-order abortions. We look forward to a final outcome in this case that will hold the FDA accountable."