WASHINGTON — Supreme Court said Friday night The abortion pill mifepristone will remain widely available for now, delaying the possibility of abrupt termination of the drug used in more than half of all abortions in the United States.
The order halted steps that sought to limit the availability of mifepristone as an appeal was made: a decision by a federal judge in Texas to completely suspend the drug from the market, and another ruling from a court The appellate court imposed significant barriers on the pill, including blocking access by mail.
The unsigned one-paragraph order, issued hours before the restrictions were set to go into effect, marks the second time in five the Supreme Court has considered a major effort to sharply restrict access. abortion.
The final case could have profound implications, even for countries where abortion is legal, as well as for FDA Regulatory Authority than other drugs.
If the Texas judge’s ruling, which revoked FDA approval of the pill after more than two decades, goes into effect, it could pave the way for all sorts of challenges to the agency’s approval. approve other drugs and allow healthcare providers anywhere to oppose government policy that could affect patients.
The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene after the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals omitted some limitations in the Texas ruling, even as it announced it would allow the pill to continue circulating. on the market.
By order Friday, Judges Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. disagree.
Justice Thomas did not give a reason, but Justice Alito noted that the Fifth Circuit narrowed down the most sweeping aspects of the Texas ruling. He added that the FDA and the maker of the branded version of mifepristone, Danco Laboratories, “did not show that they were capable of irreparable harm” when the case went to the appeals court.
Judge Alito expressed skepticism about the FDA’s claim that “regulatory chaos” would ensue if the lower court’s ruling were to take effect. In a nod to a competition lawsuit filed by the Democratic state attorney general in Washington State, seen as a direct challenge to the Texas case, he accused the FDA of taking advantage of the court system. to implement “a desired policy while evading both necessity. agency procedures and judicial review.”
This is most likely not the last word from the judges. After the Fifth Circle hears the appeal, the matter will likely go back to the Supreme Court.
No judge appointed by President Donald J. Trump has publicly dissented.
The court’s decision, at least temporarily, is a win for the Biden administration.
President Biden welcomed the decision, saying that “the regulator will continue to defend the FDA’s independent, specialized authority to review, approve, and regulate many prescription drugs.”
The Texas ruling “would undermine the FDA’s medical judgment and put women’s health at risk,” he added.
An FDA spokesperson declined to comment.
The response from the plaintiffs – a coalition of anti-abortion groups and some doctors – has been muted.
Erik Baptist, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal organization that represents the union, said the fight will continue.
“The FDA must respond to the damage it has done to the health of countless women and girls and the law by failing to study the dangers of chemical abortion pill regimens and the illegally waive any meaningful protections, even allowing abortions to be mailed,” said Baptist.
After the Supreme Court remove the constitutional right to abortion In June, political and legal battles turned to medical abortion, a two-drug regimen commonly used during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The first drug, mifepristone, blocks the reproductive hormone progesterone, and the second, misoprostol, taken a day or two later, promotes contractions and helps the uterus expel the contents.
More than five million women have used mifepristone to terminate pregnancy in the United States, and dozens of other countries have approved its use.
The case reached the judges’ ears after a fast-paced and confusing battle over the pill’s legal status.
In November, the plaintiffs filed a lawsuit with the Amarillo division of the federal court system in Texas, ensuring that the case will be brought before a single judge: Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the United States District Court States for the Northern District of Texas.
Judge Kacsmaryk, Trump’s appointee, is a longtime abortionist and joined the bench after working at First Liberty Institute, a conservative legal group focused on issues religious freedom.
The union that brought the lawsuit, the Hippocratic Medicine Alliance, argued that the FDA approved the pill in 2000 inappropriately and that mifepristone was unsafe. The agency strongly refuted those claims, pointing out studies that serious complications are rare and that less than 1% of patients require hospitalization.
This month, Judge Kacsmaryk, in an interim ruling, declared the FDA’s approval of the drug null and void and gave both parties a week to seek emergency relief before the decision went into effect. .
Less than an hour later, federal judge in Washington State, Thomas O. Rice, appointed by President Barack Obama, issued a conflicting ruling in a separate case over mifepristone. Judge Rice prevented the FDA from restricting the availability of the pill in 17 states and the District of Columbia, which are parties to that lawsuit.
Competition rulings mean the matter will almost certainly go to the Supreme Court.
The FDA immediately appealed Judge Kacsmaryk’s decision, and a divided panel of three judges of the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, backed the agency’s approval of the drug, ensuring that mifepristone will continue to be marketed.
But the panel posed several barriers to access, siding in part with Judge Kacsmaryk, while the case moved through the courts. It blocked a series of steps the FDA has taken since 2016 to increase drug availability and distribution, such as allowing drugs to be mailed and prescribed by medical providers. not a doctor.
Adam Liptak And Christina Jewett contribution report.
