'Not Quite Midnight at the Supreme Court'

[Joinfortmill]

https://joycevance.substack.com/p/not-quite-midnight-at-the-supreme?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance

'I figured that I’d set my alarm for midnight to see how the Court would rule on...Texas federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s decision to overrule the FDA’s approval of Mifepristone, a drug proven safe and effective for abortions and miscarriage treatment for over 20 years....When the Supreme Court ruled, they stayed all of it. They preserved the status quo, so Mifepristone will remain available up to 10 weeks, and can be obtained via the mail and used at home while the courts are reviewing the case. But that’s a temporary reprieve.

The stay will last while the case is on appeal to the Fifth Circuit. Presumably the party that loses in that court will appeal to the Supreme Court. They are not required to hear an appeal in a civil case like this. If the Court were to refuse to hear it (“certiorari denied”), then the stay would end and the Fifth Circuit’s order would go into effect. If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the appeal (“cert granted”), the stay will continue until the Court enters final judgment. Because the case involves important issues, it’s very likely the Court will take the case.

Tonight’s decision keeps the current rules in place. That’s important beyond this case alone, because with abortion banned or limited in many parts of the country after Dobbs, ending access to Mifepristone, which is used for over 50% of procedures, has become the next frontier for those intent on putting a national ban on abortion in place. There will likely be additional efforts to restrict access to it and to its companion drug Misoprostol.'