Supreme Court says abortion pill mifepristone will remain broadly available during legal battle
Last edited Fri Apr 21, 2023, 08:29 PM - Edit history (3)
Source: CNBC
The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the abortion pill mifepristone to remain broadly available as litigation plays out in a lower court. The high court’s decision came in response to an emergency request by the Department of Justice to block lower court rulings that would severely limit access to the medication even in some states where abortion remains legal.
The case will now be heard in the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court has scheduled oral arguments for Wed., May 17 at 1 p.m. CT. Mifepristone has become the flashpoint in the legal battle over abortion since the Supreme Court last summer overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that guaranteed abortion nationwide as a constitutional right.
Mifepristone, used in combination with another drug called misoprostol, is the most common method to terminate a pregnancy in the U.S., accounting for about half of all abortions.
President Joe Biden said the court’s decision keeps mifepristone available to women and FDA approved to terminate early pregnancies. Biden said his administration will fight to protect access to mifepristone in the ongoing legal battle in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. “I continue to stand by [the Food and Drug Administration’s] evidence-based approval of mifepristone, and my administration will continue to defend FDA’s independent, expert authority to review, approve, and regulate a wide range of prescription drugs,” the president said.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/21/supreme-court-says-abortion-pill-mifepristone-will-remain-broadly-available-during-legal-battle.html
STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT BIDEN
Home Briefing Room Statements and Releases
Today, the Supreme Court granted the Department of Justice's emergency stay application in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, preventing a lower court decision from going into effect that would have undermined FDA's medical judgment and put women's health at risk.
As a result of the Supreme Court's stay, mifepristone remains available and approved for safe and effective use while we continue this fight in the courts. I continue to stand by FDA's evidence-based approval of mifepristone, and my Administration will continue to defend FDA's independent, expert authority to review, approve, and regulate a wide range of prescription drugs.
The stakes could not be higher for women across America. I will continue to fight politically-driven attacks on women's health. But let's be clear - the American people must continue to use their vote as their voice, and elect a Congress who will pass a law restoring the protections of Roe v Wade.
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https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/04/21/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-supreme-courts-decision-in-alliance-for-hippocratic-medicine-v-fda/
From a Slate reporter and link to the ruling is here (PDF) -
Link to tweet
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BREAKING: Supreme Court stays order banning mifepristone. This means mifepristone remains 100% legal and accessible in states where it is legal.
Thomas and Alito dissent.
https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23785998/22a901-22a902-order.pdf
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6:44 PM · Apr 21, 2023
Article updated.
Previous articles -
The case will now be heard in the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court has scheduled oral arguments for Wednesday, May 17 at 1 pm CT. Mifepristone has become the central flashpoint in the legal battle over abortion since the Supreme Court last summer overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that guaranteed abortion as a constitutional right nationwide.
Mifepristone, used in combination with another drug called misoprostol, is the most common method to terminate a pregnancy in the U.S., accounting for about half of all abortions. President Joe Biden said the Supreme Court's decision keeps mifepristone available to women and FDA approved to terminate early pregnancies.
Biden said his administration will fight to protect access to mifepristone in the ongoing legal battle in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. "I continue to stand by FDA's evidence-based approval of mifepristone, and my Administration will continue to defend FDA's independent, expert authority to review, approve, and regulate a wide range of prescription drugs," Biden said.
The high court's decision came in response to an emergency request by the Justice Department to block lower court rulings that would severely limit access to the medication even in some states where abortion remains legal. The case will now be heard in the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court has scheduled oral arguments for Wednesday, May 17 at 1 pm CT.
Mifepristone has become the central flashpoint in the legal battle over abortion since the Supreme Court last summer overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that guaranteed abortion as a constitutional right nationwide. Mifepristone, used in combination with another drug called misoprostol, is the most common method to terminate a pregnancy in the U.S., accounting for about half of all abortions.
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, both conservatives, opposed the Supreme Court's majority decision to grant the emergency request from the Biden administration and Danco Laboratories, the distributor of the brand name version of the drug, Mifeprex.
Original article -
Mifepristone has become the central flashpoint in the legal battle over abortion since the Supreme Court last summer overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that guaranteed abortion as a constitutional right nationwide.
The national legal battle over mifepristone began with a lawsuit filed by a coalition of doctors who oppose abortion, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. Those doctors sought to force the Food and Drug Administration to pull the medication from the U.S. entirely.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled in favor of the antiabortion doctors and issued a sweeping order that would have halted sales of mifepristone nationwide.
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How can one measly judge in Texas make a ruling about the abortion pill that creates a shytestorm that could change the law for the entire country?
Honestly the real issue is that judges aren’t supposed to have any authority over federal organizations like the FDA whatsoever. This is a massive judicial overreach, since there is no law that has been broken by the FDA to rule on in the first place.
In fact, a judge making medical decisions is in effect breaking the law by practicing medicine without a license.
Doctors are afraid to do what's best for their patients for fear of being jailed - and doctors are leaving states with these laws that don't allow them to practice medicine responsibly. And this means that more patients - mostly women - will die. 
I haven't read Alito's dissent yet. But if he is actually starting to realize how little respect much of the country has for him and his stupid opinions, I have this to say:
