Biden Administration Advocates for Access to Abortion Pills in Supreme Court Case

The Supreme Court will discuss limiting access to the abortion pill while President Joe Biden’s administration fights for broad access to the medication. This case highlights reproductive rights in an election year.

The Biden administration is appealing a lower court’s ruling that would restrict the prescription and distribution of mifepristone, the abortion pill. Four medical associations and four anti-abortion doctors in Texas challenged this medication.

The case questions FDA changes allowing medication abortions up to 10 weeks instead of seven, and mail delivery without in-person clinician visits. Medication abortions are now the most common method in the U.S., constituting over 60% of abortions since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

The case reviews the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ criticism of FDA decisions in 2016 and 2021 that eased access to mifepristone. It could challenge FDA’s regulatory authority over drug safety.

Mifepristone is used with misoprostol for medication abortions, approved by the FDA since 2000. The FDA finds mifepristone “extremely safe” with rare adverse events. Opponents argue FDA violated safety regulations by loosening restrictions on mifepristone.

The case also examines whether plaintiffs have legal standing to challenge the FDA’s actions and how they have been harmed. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine plaintiffs claim their doctors may be forced to treat abortion-drug complications, violating their conscience.

The Justice Department argues against speculative harm claims, challenging the chain of events leading to harm and the plaintiffs’ legal standing to bring the case.

Biden, a strong advocate for abortion rights, has made this an election theme. The 5th Circuit’s decision, which paused pulling mifepristone off the market, awaits the Supreme Court’s ruling expected by June.