The abortion pill debate is headed to the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear a case challenging whether the FDA improperly expanded access to the abortion pill mifepristone, marking the Court’s first abortion case since it overturned Roe v. Wade last summer.

Background: Mifepristone, alongside the drug misoprostol, is typically taken during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy in order to induce an abortion. More than 5 million women have used mifepristone since it was first approved by the FDA at the start of this century.

• Its popularity accelerated in 2016, when the FDA repealed laws that required three doctors’ visits to obtain mifepristone, limited the drug’s use to the earliest weeks of pregnancy, and banned mailing pills to patients.
• By 2022, the mifepristone/misoprostol combination accounted for over half of all abortions performed in the US (54%).

But a pending lawsuit could soon reverse that trend. In April, a federal judge ruled that the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone and the more recent 2016 regulations were both invalid, saying the agency improperly used a pathway intended for drugs to treat serious illnesses and failed to adequately consider safety concerns.

• Upon the Biden admin’s appeal, the Fifth Circuit Court reinstated the 2000 approval but struck down the more recent FDA rules, prompting further appeals to the Supreme Court.

👀 Looking ahead… SCOTUS will hear the White House’s appeal to reinstate the post-2016 mifepristone regulations sometime next year, with a final decision expected before July. The Court also declined to hear a separate appeal from a conservative advocacy group seeking to strike down mifepristone’s initial 2000 approval.