Supreme Court Delays Decision on Abortion Pill Until Friday

On Wednesday the Supreme Court extended its deadline on its ruling on mifepristone, with the order now expiring Friday at midnight

The Supreme Court has delayed its ruling on the abortion pill mifepristone until Friday.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court extended its own deadline to make a decision on the drug by two more days. The order, issued by Justice Samuel Alito, means mifepristone is still widely available until the end of Friday.

On April 14, Alito granted a temporary, five-day pause of a Texas order deeming the Food and Drug Administration-approved drug unsafe, according to ABC News.

Last week, a federal appeals court in Texas ruled that mifepristone could remain available, partially overruling a ruling made the week before by a lower court, according to The New York Times. The pause on the lower court ruling came after an appeal from the Biden administration and drugmakers.

Though the appeals court preserved access to the pill, it also reverted to earlier usage rules of the drug. Mifepristone can no longer be sent via mail and it's only available to women up to seven weeks of pregnancy instead of ten.

Related:Appeals Court Preserves Access to Abortion Pill but Tightens Rules for Use

On April 7, a federal judge in Texas halted the FDA's approval of mifepristone, effectively delivering an initial blow to abortion rights following the Supreme Court's dismantling of Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk — a nominee of former President Donald Trump — agreed with conservative groups lobbying to reverse the FDA's approval of mifepristone as safe and effective. Kacsmaryk said that the FDA improperly approved the drug in 2000.

The proposed reversal would extend to states where abortion rights are currently protected.

Related:Competing Rulings Issued on Access to Key Abortion Pill

"[The] FDA acquiesced on its legitimate safety concerns — in violation of its statutory duty — based on plainly unsound reasoning and studies that did not support its conclusions," Kacsmaryk wrote in his 67-page opinion, per The Washington Post. The judge then stayed his ruling for seven days to allow time for appeals.

The three-judge appeals court panel — two Trump-appointed judges and one appointed by former President George W. Bush — didn't agree fully with Kacsmaryk and reinstated access along with tighter rules. According to The New York Times, the court said its ruling will hold until the full case is heard "on its merits."

The Supreme Court now has to decide whether to more permanently block the decision issued by Kacsmaryk. To win a more permanent block on the lower court ruling, the Biden administration would need to win the votes of at least five of the nine justices on the court, according to NBC News.

Mifepristone was approved by the FDA in 2000, and beginning in 2016, the FDA began working to make access to the pill easier by lifting some restrictions. This included pushing back access from seven weeks of pregnancy to ten and allowing doctors to give the medication to patients without meeting in person.

According to The Washington Post, Kacsmaryk's ruling marked the first time a court has ordered the FDA to remove a medication from the market despite opposition from the agency and the drug's manufacturer.

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"We are going to continue to fight in the courts, we believe the law is on our side, and we will prevail," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said while addressing reporters last week, per AP News.

On April 7, a statement from U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland was released in opposition to the original ruling by Kacsmaryk.

"The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the decision of the District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA and will be appealing the court's decision and seeking a stay pending appeal," the statement read. "Today's decision overturns the FDA's expert judgment, rendered over two decades ago, that mifepristone is safe and effective. The Department will continue to defend the FDA's decision."

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