The Supreme Court has now intervened in the dispute over the approval of the abortion pill mifepristone in the USA. With an injunction today, the court ordered that the drug remain available until Wednesday midnight (local time). It was responding to a motion brought by President Joe Biden’s administration and a manufacturer challenging an appeals court order.
This instance had decided that mifepristone should only be available and used with restrictions.
Texas as a trigger
The appeals court came after a decision by a Texas federal court to suspend approval of the drug altogether. Mifepristone was approved in the US in 2000 and is commonly used with the drug misoprostol for pregnancy termination. But it can also be used alone. The World Health Organization only recommends this if mifepristone is unavailable. According to the FDA, mifepristone is a reliable drug.
Abortion opponents had sued in Texas against the approval – they want to make access to medical abortion more difficult. Last year, the Supreme Court, with its conservative majority, overturned the country’s abortion law, which had been in effect for almost 50 years.
