The United States Supreme Court could soon be faced with a decision on whether abortion pills can remain legal in the country. Just under a year after the conservative court struck down Roe v. Wade, the next phase of the fight over abortion rights has already reached its doorstep. The case could affect women all over the country, making abortions harder to access even in states where it is legal, and it could pose a sweeping challenge to the broader system for regulating prescription drugs in the US.
Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk recently ruled that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must reverse its approval of mifepristone, one of the two drugs commonly used in medication-induced abortions. If Kacsmaryk’s ruling stands, doctors and pharmacists would have to stop providing abortion pills, even in states that have passed laws protecting abortion rights. Pharmacists can only dispense FDA-approved drugs.
Kacsmaryk gave the federal government seven days to file an appeal. Within hours of his ruling, a federal court in Washington state issued a contradictory order prohibiting the FDA from making any changes to mifepristone’s availability. The only way to sort this out is to get it before the Supreme Court as quickly as possible.
Over half of US abortions are performed with medication rather than surgery. This case could set a far-reaching precedent that would upend the practice of medicine even beyond abortion, opening the door to a host of lawsuits second-guessing the FDA’s decisions. The FDA first approved mifepristone decades ago and has frequently reviewed the drug’s safety warnings and other specifics of its approval. Kacsmaryk, however, said the agency hadn’t followed proper procedures when making decisions about the drug.
The Justice Department will appeal Kacsmaryk’s ruling quickly and will likely move through the process faster than usual. That would set the stage for yet another Supreme Court showdown over abortion rights less than a year after the court struck down Roe v. Wade, just as the 2024 election is approaching.
The judge who ruled on the case, Matthew Kacsmaryk, was appointed to the bench by former President Trump and has become one of President Biden’s chief antagonists. This could further add to the political tensions surrounding the case.
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