The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday temporarily upheld access to the abortion pill, the most common abortion method in the United States. She stopped the decision of the lower court In order to have more time to consider the file.
The Supreme Court said the suspension will be valid till midnight on Wednesday and the parties will have to present their arguments by noon on Tuesday. The conservative-majority U.S. House of Commons has been seized by the Biden administration, asking it to act before restrictions on access to the pill, ordered by an appeals court, take effect overnight Friday through Saturday.
The final outcome remains uncertain
The temporary stay ordered by the Supreme Court does not predict the future outcome of the case, the outcome of which remains highly uncertain.
The current legal battle, the latest twist in the attack on abortion rights in the United States, threatens access to mifepristone across the United States.
read more: The Abortion Pill, America’s Divided Symbol
A popular pill
Combined with another drug, the pill is used for more than half of abortions in the United States. More than five million Americans have already taken it since the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it 20 years ago. The Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday “provides little consolation for five short days,” said Jenny Ma of the Center for Reproductive Rights. He added that “this case is far from over” and “the Supreme Court should act next week to prevent the confusion that has been created”.
In some of the fifteen US states that recently outlawed abortion, the abortion pill is not officially available, although ordinances have been created. The impact of restrictions or bans on the pill will be of major concern to states where abortion is legal — to many Democrats.
Argument: Health risks
The legal saga began last week: A federal judge in Texas, seized by anti-abortion activists, revoked the FDA’s marketing authorization for mifepristone. Despite the scientific consensus, she felt it could endanger women’s health.
A week’s time was given before his decision was implemented. Seized by the federal government, an appeals court allowed the abortion pill to be approved — but it changed the access facilities the FDA had provided for years.
His ruling specifically banned mifepristone from being sent by mail and returned to limited use to seven weeks of pregnancy instead of ten weeks. In its motion, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to “preserve the status quo,” pending a review of the case on the merits.
Another federal judge ruled on appeal that the FDA’s ban on changing conditions for the distribution of abortion pills in 17 states and Washington, D.C., put the company in an “unacceptable situation,” the government argued.
Industry is concerned
Danco Laboratories, one of two companies selling mifepristone in the US, also asked the Supreme Court to intervene. The fear of drug industry bosses, like many experts, is that these legal actions could pave the way for courts to challenge other drugs — or vaccines.
This is the first time a court has sought to overturn a drug’s approval conditions based on its safety assessment, rather than by scientific experts. White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that the Biden administration “will continue to protect the FDA’s expert and independent authority to evaluate, approve and regulate a broad range of drugs.”
Abortion is prohibited in Florida
On Thursday, the legislature of Florida, one of the most populous US states, It also passed a law banning abortion beyond six weeks of pregnancy, before most women know they are pregnant. States have had the freedom to legislate on the matter since the Supreme Court struck down federal protections for abortion in a historic June 2022 ruling, Roe v. Wade” since 1973.
In states where abortion is outlawed (with rare exceptions), some women turn to organizations that mobilize to ship abortion pills from abroad or from other states or to commercial sites that sell them on the Internet. If abortion is legal and access to mifepristone is banned, women will still have the option of an abortion — a more complicated procedure that requires a visit to a clinic.
Some doctors are considering continuing to provide medical abortions using only the second pill, misoprostol. But this protocol is slightly less effective than combining misoprostol and mifepristone and has more side effects (such as severe cramps).