TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Dec 13, 2023

The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to hear a bid by the Biden administration to preserve broader access to the abortion pill, SCOTUSblog reports. The court will review a ruling by a federal appeals court that would significantly restrict, but not eliminate, access to mifepristone, which now accounts for over half of all abortions performed in the United States. A federal judge in Texas suspended federal approval of the drug in 2000 as well as an expansion of its availability in 2016 and 2021. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the ruling on the expansion, but said the challenge to the original approval of the drug came too late. The high court will consider the expansion of availability but will not consider the appellate court’s ruling related to initial approval of the drug.