{"id":2266779,"date":"2024-06-13T10:38:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T14:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-upholds-fda-approval-of-abortion-pill-mifepristone\/"},"modified":"2024-06-13T10:45:07","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T14:45:07","slug":"supreme-court-upholds-fda-approval-of-abortion-pill-mifepristone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-upholds-fda-approval-of-abortion-pill-mifepristone\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court confirms FDA&#8217;s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsupreme-court-upholds-fda-approval-of-abortion-pill-mifepristone%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2266779&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Supreme Court recently dismissed a case challenging the approval of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wyoming-judge-to-rule-on-nations-first-abortion-pill-ban\/\" title=\"Wyoming judge to decide on first-ever abortion pill ban\">abortion drug\u200b mifepristone<\/a>, citing lack of standing by\u200d the plaintiffs. This ruling upholds the FDA&#8217;s regulatory adjustments that allow \u2064the drug to be prescribed online and delivered by mail. The unanimous decision, authored by\u200b Justice Brett Kavanaugh, represents a significant victory for the Biden \u2063administration\u2063 in its efforts to maintain access\u2062 to\u200b abortifacients following\u200d the overturning of Roe v. Wade.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy began in November 2022 when the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, a group of religious doctors opposed to abortion, sued to reverse the \u200dFDA\u2019s 2000 approval of mifepristone. The legal battle escalated when U.S. \u2063Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, temporarily suspended the\u200b FDA\u2019s approval in April 2023. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit later ruled that the statute of limitations had expired to completely overturn the drug&#8217;s\u200c approval, although it did revoke some deregulation measures instituted by the FDA in 2016 and 2021.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2062Supreme Court&#8217;s considerations focused on whether the doctors had legal standing, particularly concerning whether \u2063they suffered direct harm \u2062from the \u2064deregulation of the pill.\u2062 The justices were skeptical of broad actions against mifepristone based solely on the objections \u200dfrom a \u200bfew doctors regarding\u200d participating in treatment post-abortion due to conscience protections. There\u2064 was also discussion about possible religious exemptions for physicians in\u200b hospitals. This case highlighted ongoing\u200c debates around \u2062the accessibility and regulation of abortion drugs in the\u200b post-Roe legal\u2064 landscape.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Supreme-Court\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Supreme Court<\/a> on Thursday dismissed a case surrounding a challenge to the common <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abortion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>abortion<\/a> drug mifepristone, saying the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democratic-senator-claims-rant-during-barrett-confirmation-is-reason-court-upheld-obamacare\/\" title=\"Democratic Senator Claims Rant During Barrett Confirmation Is Reason Court Upheld Obamacare\">plaintiffs lacked standing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The ruling means the drug may continue to be prescribed online and shipped by mail, upholding recent regulatory changes made by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/FDA\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Food and Drug Administration<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The decision by the high court was unanimous and written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, an appointee of former president Donald Trump.\u00a0It marks a major victory for the Biden administration, which since 2022 has sought to fight against efforts by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/remember-when-media-freaked-out-over-amy-coney-barrett-and-the-right-wing-supreme-court\/\" title=\"Remember When Media Freaked Out Over Amy Coney Barrett And The Right Wing Supreme Court?\">anti-abortion groups<\/a> to limit access to abortifacients in the wake of the landmark decision overturning <em>Roe v. Wade<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/2930851\/mifepristone-on-trial-what-to-know-about-the-supreme-court-oral-arguments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>legal fight<\/a> against mifepristone started in November 2022, when the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, a group of religious doctors who oppose abortion, sued to reverse the FDA\u2019s 2000 approval of the drug.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee in the Northern District of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Texas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Texas<\/a>, completely suspended the FDA\u2019s approval of the pill in April 2023, an unprecedented move that critics said destabilized the authority of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cdc-collaboration-with-big-tech-on-covid-19-misinformation-a-threat-to-first-amendment-rights-legal-advocacy-group\/\" title=\"CDC Collaboration With Big Tech on COVID-19 Misinformation a Threat to First Amendment Rights: Legal Advocacy Group\">federal public health agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department responded by appealing Kacsmaryk\u2019s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, which is considered one of the most conservative federal appellate courts in the nation.<\/p>\n<p>A three-judge panel on the 5th Circuit agreed with Kacsmaryk in part, overturning deregulation measures of the drug the FDA instituted in 2016 and 2021, respectively. The appeals court ruled, however, that the statute of limitations had passed to overturn the drug\u2019s approval entirely.<\/p>\n<p>In 2016, the FDA increased the gestational age of the pregnancy for which the abortifacient can be used, raising it from 8 weeks to 10 weeks. The agency also removed in-person screening requirements for receipt of the pills in 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic, allowing healthcare providers to ship the pills directly to patients by mail.<\/p>\n<p>Mifepristone is the first drug in a two-agent chemical abortion process. Mifepristone, also referred to as \u201cplan C\u201d by abortion advocates, works by cutting off the woman\u2019s progesterone receptors, preventing the fetus from continuing to grow and live. The second agent, misoprostol, induces contractions to expel the pregnancy tissue.<\/p>\n<p>As of a March report from the pro-abortion rights Guttmacher Institute, nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/2927308\/over-63-of-abortions-were-by-pill-in-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"two thirds\">two-thirds<\/a> of all abortions in the United States use mifepristone.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2938681\/supreme-court-appears-skeptical-scope-abortion-pill-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>oral arguments<\/a> for the case before the Supreme Court in late March largely boiled down to the legal principle of standing, or whether or not the doctors who brought suit had been sufficiently harmed by the agency\u2019s deregulation of the pill. <\/p>\n<p>OB-GYN hospitalists involved in the case argued that when they are on call, they are the only ones who are able to treat patients following complications from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/abortion-pill-manufacturer-asks-supreme-court-to-review-mifepristone-limits\/\" title=\"Abortion pill maker seeks Supreme Court review on Mifepristone restrictions.\">chemical abortion procedure<\/a>. They argued that participating in the patient\u2019s recovery, up to and including removing the unsuccessfully aborted fetus, is a violation of conscience protections.<\/p>\n<p>During oral arguments, justices seemed skeptical as to the breadth of the decision either to eliminate or substantially curtail mifepristone as a remedy for a handful of doctors with ethical objections to participating in the aftermath of an abortion procedure.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Amy Coney Barrett questioned both sides about whether it would be possible to create a religious exemption in hospitals to prevent physicians with ethical objections from needing to treat patients presenting\u00a0with abortion complications.<\/p>\n<p>Erin Hawley, an attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom representing AHM, argued that physicians often do not know until they are treating a patient whether or not she is suffering from a natural miscarriage or complications from a failed at-home abortion.<\/p>\n<p>ADF also backed the case that the justices decided two years ago known as <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dobbs-v-jackson-womens-health-organization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization\">Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health Organization<\/a><\/em>, which was a challenge to Mississippi\u2019s ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The result of the case prompted numerous Republican-backed states to begin imposing stricter limits of abortion.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was part of the majority in <em>Dobbs<\/em>, stressed at the time that the high court would no longer meddle in the contentious abortion debate. \u201cInstead, those difficult moral and policy questions will be decided, as the Constitution dictates, by the people and their elected representatives through the constitutional processes of democratic self-government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the case of mifepristone has always had less to do with abortion and more to do with FDA\u2019s regulatory authority. The central legal question in the case is the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires agencies to have sufficient evidence of the benefits before making a decision.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The main question is whether the doctors who face the downstream effects of the deregulation have the standing to charge the FDA with violating these federal standards.<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear how the case will affect the approval authority of the agency.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the abortion drug mifepristone, citing lack of standing by the plaintiffs. This decision allows the continued online prescription and mail shipment of the drug, affirming recent FDA regulatory updates<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2998,"featured_media":2266780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP24086509233228-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2266779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/AP24086509233228-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2266779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2998"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2266779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2266779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2266780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2266779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2266779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2266779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}