The United States Supreme Court has overwhelmingly dismissed a proposal that would limit access to the abortion medication mifepristone.
Pro-choice groups celebrated the verdict, which came almost two years after the court invalidated the national abortion guarantee.
The court ruled that the plaintiffs, ‘anti’ a group of physicians and campaigners, were not entitled to a legal right to sue.
They did, however, leave the door open for future attempts to limit the drug’s availability.
Mifepristone is one of two medications used in medication abortions. And these are presently the most popular way to terminate pregnancies in the United States.
The plaintiffs, known as the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, contended that the drug’s approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should be removed.
However, during the case’s arguments in March, six of the court’s nine justices expressed doubt that any of the plaintiffs had suffered injury as a result of the availability of mifepristone. Which must have occurred to have legal standing to claim.
“The plaintiffs have sincere legal, moral, and ideological objections to elective abortion and the FDA’s relaxed regulation,” stated Justice Brett Kavanaugh for the court, “but they failed to demonstrate” any actual harm.
“A plaintiff’s desire to make a drug less available for others does not establish standing to sue,” he said.
In June 2022, the Supreme Court overruled Roe v Wade, essentially ending the legal right to abortion. Since then, 21 states have acted to ban it earlier in pregnancy than the norm it established. Seventeen of them have outlawed the surgery at six weeks or earlier.
Thursday’s verdict has no influence on these regulations; medication abortion is still illegal in states that restrict abortion. However, abortion pills have served as an efficient workaround to the laws. with thousands of pills arriving in conservative areas via mail.
Pro-choice groups were pleased that access to abortion drugs had been retained. But cautioned that the Supreme Court’s decision was a partial success.
A minimum of three states, Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho, have filed legal challenges to the FDA’s approval of the medicine. The Supreme Court’s judgment on Thursday does not exclude such future challenges.
“This ruling is not a ‘win’ for abortion, it just maintains the status quo,” said Nancy Northup, head of the pro-choice Center for Reproductive Rights, in a statement.
“The attacks on abortion pills will not stop here. The anti-abortion movement sees how critical these pills are in this post-Roe world.”
In a statement, President Joe Biden repeated such remarks. Stating that the decision “does not change the fact that the fight for reproductive freedom continues.”
“The stakes could not be higher for women across America,” he stated.
Anti-abortion groups slammed the decision. However, these parties suggested that the war will continue.
“It is a sad day for all who value women’s health and unborn children’s lives,” said Katie Daniel, Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America’s state policy director. “But the fight to stop dangerous mail-order abortion drugs is not over.”
Abortion is anticipated to be a major issue at the ballot box this fall.
Since Roe v Wade was overturned. some Republicans have struggled to reconcile a base that opposes abortion with a broader populace that generally supports the procedure.
