The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an attempt by abortion opponents to limit access to mifepristone, one of two drugs used for medical abortion.
The case was brought by a group of anti-abortion doctors in Texas called the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, formed in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that ended Roe v. Wade.
The Court ruled that the doctors and anti-abortion associations who filed the lawsuit do not have standing to sue because they have no direct relationship with the regulation of mifepristone.
Here’s what you should know:
The decision was unanimous and procedural
The 9-0 decision was authored by Judge Brett Kavanaugh, appointed by former President Donald Trump.
The decision was procedural, meaning it did not address the underlying regulatory or safety concerns raised by the plaintiffs. Instead, Kavanaugh wrote that the Alliance could not demonstrate that any of its doctors were directly affected by the FDA’s actions.
“We recognize that many citizens, including the physician plaintiffs here, have sincere concerns and objections to others using mifepristone and performing abortions,” Kavanaugh wrote. “But citizens and doctors do not have standing to sue simply because others are allowed to engage in certain activities – at least without plaintiffs demonstrating how they would be harmed by the government’s alleged underregulation of others.”
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion where he commented further on the issue of standing and reiterated his belief that pro-abortion doctors do not have standing to sue on behalf of their patients.
Access isn’t changing, but it’s still a patchwork
Thursday’s decision maintained the status quo but did not make mifepristone widely available.
The drug will remain available to people until the 10th week of pregnancy and will still be available by mail. Nurses and other non-physicians can still prescribe it.
But it all depends on where you live.
Walgreens and CVS said in March they would prescribe mifepristone “in states where it is legally permitted.”
“At this time, Planned Parenthood health centers across the country will continue to provide patients with medication abortions using mifepristone in states where abortion is legal,” Jacqueline Ayers, senior vice president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, told reporters at Thursday.
Abortion is almost completely banned in more than a dozen states, meaning mifepristone is illegal.
Some states have essentially banned telemedicine abortions, requiring the doctor to be in the same room as the patient when administering medications. Arizona banned them from being mailed.
There are some providers in blue states who prescribe abortion pills through telehealth protection laws, but they don’t operate in every state, and red states are looking for ways to stop the practice.
Louisiana, for example, recently passed a law declaring mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances, criminalizing possession without a prescription.
Democrats and abortion rights groups aren’t celebrating
The decision is the most significant for abortion rights since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Wade for two years, but it’s far from the end of the fight.
Democrats and abortion rights activists said they know there will be more attacks on abortion.
“Today’s decision does not change the fact that the fight for reproductive freedom continues. This doesn’t change the fact that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Wade two years ago and women have lost a fundamental freedom. This does not change the fact that a woman’s right to receive the treatment she needs is endangered, if not impossible, in many states,” President Biden said in a statement.
Julia Kaye, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, told reporters the ruling was a “relief.”
“But we shouldn’t be dazzled by the fact that the Supreme Court did the right thing here,” she said. “Although the Supreme Court has refused to allow these particular people to bring this case, anti-abortion politicians are waiting to continue this campaign to prevent access to medication abortion care.”
Additionally, the Court is expected to rule in the coming days or weeks on another abortion case that pits Idaho against the Biden administration in a test to determine whether doctors can perform an abortion on patients facing a serious but not necessarily life-threatening medical emergency. . .
This case may not be over
Thursday’s ruling may not be the end of legal challenges to mifepristone.
The decision does not rule out a new lawsuit filed by plaintiffs with stronger legitimacy arguments.
But the biggest threat could come from a trio of red states.
Idaho, Kansas and Missouri sought to join the case. The Supreme Court rejected the request, but a conservative judge in Amarillo, Texas, who initially ruled against the FDA, allowed them to intervene in his district.
“I expect the litigation to continue with these states raising arguments different from those made by our doctors,” said Erin Hawley, an attorney with the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom who argued the case on behalf of the doctors.
It remains to be seen whether these states have standing to sue the FDA or whether the case will continue. Because the Supreme Court found the parties lacked standing, some legal experts said red state attorneys general have no case in which to intervene.
But even if the case is ultimately filed in Amarillo, abortion advocates said they expect to see copycat lawsuits in Idaho, Missouri or Kansas.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
