Supreme Court rejects move to restrict access to abortion pill mifepristone

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

The Supreme Court has rejected a move that sought restriction on access to abortion pill mifepristone. The decision, which came a couple of years after the court revoked US-wide guarantee to an abortion, was cheered by pro-choice activists, reports said.

Mifepristone is one of two drugs used in the US currently for medical abortion.

Arguing for the restriction, the plaintiffs, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, said approval for the drug from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should be withdrawn. However, the verdict did not go in the favor of the plaintiff as several of the court’s nine justices weren’t convinced that any of the plaintiffs had suffered harm from the availability of said drug.

In June 2022, the top court overturned Roe v Wade, effectively revoking a federal right to abortion. “Since then, 21 states have moved to restrict abortion earlier in pregnancy than the standard it had set. Seventeen of those have barred the procedure at six weeks or earlier,” a BBC report read.

Meanwhile, welcoming the decision, President Biden said, “It does mean that mifepristone, or medication abortion, remains available and approved. Women can continue to access this medication – approved by the FDA as safe and effective more than 20 years ago.”

“The stakes could not be higher for women across America,” he added.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement: “The Justice Department is gratified that today’s unanimous decision in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine ensures that mifepristone remains available for women across the country on the terms approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”

“I am proud of the work of lawyers at the Justice Department for vigorously defending the FDA’s expert judgment about the safety and efficacy of a medication that women have relied upon for more than twenty years. But our work does not end today. The Department will continue to work tirelessly to protect and advance reproductive freedoms under federal law,” the statement said.

Garland said the Department of Justice is committed to protecting reproductive freedom.

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