US Supreme Court docket and decisions

Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Challenge to FDA Regulation of Abortion Pill Mifepristone

Jun 13, 2024, 02:09 PM

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to the FDA's regulation of the abortion pill mifepristone in the case FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. The Court ruled that the plaintiffs, a group of anti-abortion doctors, lacked legal standing to sue under Article III of the Constitution. This ruling preserves full access to mifepristone, a medication used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year. Justice Kavanaugh authored the opinion, stating that a plaintiff's desire to make a drug less available for others does not establish standing to sue. The ruling also maintains the FDA's recent regulatory changes allowing the pill to be mailed to patients without an in-person doctor's visit. This decision marks the Court's first major abortion-related ruling since the conservative justices overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, and it represents a significant victory for President Joe Biden's administration in its efforts to maintain broad access to the drug.