The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to hear the Biden administration’s appeal of a lower-court ruling that restricted access to abortion pills.
The Court will hear the administration’s appeal of an August decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which held that the FDA acted illegally when it lowered safety standards around the prescription of the popular abortifacent mifepristone. The Supreme Court will also hear a connected appeal by Danco Laboratories, the drug’s manufacturer.
When mifepristone was initially approved by the FDA, there were several safety standards connected to the pill’s administration, including requirements for in-person prescription and administration under medical supervision. Additionally, the initial restrictions only approved use of the drug through seven weeks gestation.
However, the Obama administration loosened these standards in 2016, extending the approved period of use through ten weeks gestation. And in 2021, citing the Covid-19 pandemic, the Biden administration further lowered safety standards, removing the requirements for women seeking chemical abortion drugs to have in-person appointments, enabling telemedicine prescriptions and the sending of the drug by mail.
A group of concerned Texas doctors and other pro-life advocates challenged the FDA’s rollback of what they argue are essential safety standards. The 5th circuit court ruled in their favor over the summer, finding that the FDA had acted illegally when it lowered its safety standards for mifepristone in 2016 under the Obama administration, and later on under the Biden administration.
If upheld, the 5th Circuit’s decision would prohibit telemedicine prescriptions and the sending of mifepristone by mail — which would seriously hinder the interstate exchange of abortion pills, dealing a major blow to pro-choice groups.
The decision of the 5th Circuit court is currently on hold pending the outcome of the appeal at the Supreme Court. The justices are expected to hear arguments in the coming months and issue a decision by the end of June.