The Supreme Court’s Abortion Pill Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court will allow the abortion pill to remain on the market as legal proceedings questioning the Food and Drug Administration’s approval continue, showing that there is still a long way to go when it comes to ensuring women and children are protected from the abortion industry. 

In an unsigned April 21 ruling, the Court granted the request by the FDA and abortion pill manufacturer Danco Laboratories for a stay of U.S. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s suspension of the FDA’s 2000 approval of mifepristone. This means the status quo surrounding the deadly abortion pill is preserved until the case goes before the 5th Circuit for oral arguments on May 17. 

Mifepristone, the first drug in the chemical abortion pill regimen, blocks the progesterone hormone needed for the pregnancy to continue, starving the preborn child of nutrients. The second drug, misoprostol, is typically taken 24-48 hours later to expel the preborn child from the uterus. 

As of June 30, 2022, the FDA reported that at least 28 women had died after taking mifepristone since the drug was approved in 2000. Between 2000 and 2022, the FDA also noted that the drug was used to end the lives of 5.6 million preborn children 

Earlier this month, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to stay part of Kacsmaryk’s April 7 decision. While the appellate court still allowed for the distribution of the abortion pill, it upheld part of the Texas judge’s ruling that struck down the reckless loosening of restrictions for distributing mifepristone. 

The court reinstated rules requiring that the abortion pill be dispensed in-person by a certified prescriber, and women could only take it up to seven weeks of pregnancy. It also reinstated a rule mandating that all adverse events related to the abortion pill be reported, and not just in cases involving the woman’s death. 

In response to the 5th Circuit’s ruling, the Biden administration and Danco Laboratories filed emergency applications asking the Supreme Court to intervene. The Supreme Court allowed the continued distribution of the abortion pill as it considered the case. 

With the Court’s recent decision, women can keep obtaining mifepristone through the mail and acting as their own abortionists within their home up until ten weeks of pregnancy. The abortion industry has traded women’s safety for profit and power through the easy distribution of death in the form of a pill. 

Reprotection will not stop raising awareness about the risks of chemical abortion pills until there is proper accountability for the injuries and deaths these lethal drugs have caused.