Supreme Court Upholds , FDA Regulation on Popular , Abortion Drug Mifepristone.
On June 13, the Supreme Court ruled against a group of
doctors who challenged the Food and Drug Administration's
(FDA) regulations on the abortion pill mifepristone.
CBS reports that the case once again highlighted
abortion access following the conservative
majority decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
The court ruled unanimously that the group of
anti-abortion rights doctors and medical associations
lacked the legal right to challenge the FDA. .
However, the court also did not address
whether the FDA's decision to relax the
rules for mifepristone's use were lawful. .
The latest ruling was authored
by Justice Brett Kavanaugh. .
Under Article III of the Constitution,
a plaintiff's desire to make a drug
less available for others does
not establish standing to sue. , Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing for the court, via CBS.
Nor do the plaintiffs' other
standing theories suffice.
Therefore, the plaintiffs lack
standing to challenge FDA's actions, Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing for the court, via CBS.
CBS reports that the ruling does not impact other
challenges to the FDA's standing on mifepristone,
while preserving access to the popular abortion medication.
In 2016 and 2021, the FDA took steps to widen access
to mifepristone, which has been taken by over
5 million patients since first being approved in 2000.
Those steps included allowing the drug to be taken up to 10
weeks into a pregnancy, reducing the number of in-person
doctor visits and permitting it to be sold through the mail.