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The US Supreme Court blocked lower court decisions that would have outright prohibited or severely restricted the use of a commonly used abortion medication on Friday.
Since overturning the constitutional right to the surgery ten months ago, two conservative judges have dissented from the ruling in the most important abortion case to come before the nine-member court.
Without addressing the case’s legal merits, the decision by the nation’s top court means that mifepristone, which is used in more than half of abortions in the US, will continue to be available until the case is heard by an appeals court.
In an emergency appeal, President Joe Biden’s Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to overturn lower court decisions that would have prohibited or restricted the use of mifepristone.
The issue is related to a decision made by a US District Court judge in Texas about a lawsuit filed by anti-abortion groups that sought to outlaw mifepristone, which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved in 2000.
After an appeals court overturned a ban on the drug but imposed tight access limits, the case was transferred to the Supreme Court, where conservatives now hold a 6-3 majority.
Biden responded to the Supreme Court decision by saying that the lower court rulings “would have undermined FDA’s medical judgement and put women’s health at risk.”
“Deeply misinformed”
13 states have outlawed abortion, and others have placed severe restrictions on it since the Supreme Court reversed the precedent-setting Roe v. Wade decision, which had upheld the constitutional right to an abortion for fifty years.
The Justice Department is leading the opposition to the legal assault on the abortion pill, arguing that the first decision by the federal judge in Texas was founded on a “deeply misguided assessment” of the safety of the drug.
The first 10 weeks of pregnancy can be treated with a two-drug combination that includes mifepristone.
The FDA estimates that 5.6 million Americans have used it to end pregnancies since it was introduced, and it has a long history of safety.
Even as conservative groups work to restrict or outright outlaw the operation, polls consistently show that a large majority of Americans support maintaining access to safe abortion.
