The Supreme Court will consider whether to restrict access to a widely used abortion drug on Tuesday. Central to the dispute is the scope of the US Food and Drug Administration’s authority to regulate mifepristone, a drug that the medical community has deemed safe and effective.
The drug was initially approved by the FDA in 2000, but in 2016, 2019 and 2021, the FDA put in place modifications that would make the drug more easily accessible. Those modifications were related to things like dosing and in-person dispensing requirements. The changes also allowed the drug to be taken later in pregnancy.
Challengers argue that the FDA did not do enough to study the safety implications of the drug when it approved its use and made it more easily accessible in subsequent years.
How we got here: The legal volleying jumpstarted this spring, when US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, issued a ruling that would have halted the FDA’s 2000 approval of the drug.
At the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals, the conservative court backtracked somewhat, saying that while it was too late for the challengers to mount a case against the initial 2000 approval of the drug and left in place the 2019 approval of a generic version of the drug, it would block changes made in 2016 and 2021.
The Supreme Court then agreed to consider an appeals court decision that restricted access to the drug, they declined a separate appeal by the abortion foes to consider if the FDA’s 2000 approval of the drug was unlawful.
