Mom Confessions

In the first major abortion case before the U.S. Supreme Court since Roe v. Wade was struck down two years ago, the justices will weigh the future of the abortion pill mifepristone on Tuesday as they hear arguments over whether the Food and Drug Administration lawfully relaxed restrictions to make it easier to access the drug to end a pregnancy.

Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, a group of anti-abortion medical organizations, alleges the FDA failed to adequately consider the dangers of mifepristone when it eased rules in 2016 and 2021, violating a requirement that government agencies act reasonably and explain their decisions to the public.

The case thrusts the high court back into the center of the nation's abortion debate after its conservative majority voted to overrule Roe in 2022 and purported to return "the issue of abortion to the people's elected representatives."

The outcome of the FDA case could sharply limit access to abortion nationwide, even in states that still allow it. Fourteen states have banned abortion in almost all circumstances.

More than half of all abortions in the U.S. are done via medication, and the method is growing in popularity, according to a recent study from the Guttmacher Institute. Mifepristone has been used by more than 5 million women since it was first approved in 2000, and "serious adverse events are exceedingly rare," the FDA says.

The latest guidelines allow mifepristone to be prescribed by doctors, nurse practitioners or physician assistants and distributed in-person or by mail up to 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Della wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2024 2:33 pm How long until they rule?