The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked the lower court orders that restricted mifepristone, a medical abortion drug.
Friday’s temporary stay allows mifepristone to be used in states where it is legal until Wednesday.
Mifepristone is used in conjunction with another medication for medical abortions, which account for about half of all abortions in the U.S.
The original lawsuit filed by Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine claims the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) never studied the safety of the drug, claiming mifepristone is a dangerous drug that harms women and girls and helps sex traffickers. Doctors and the scientific community disagree.
This week the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans rolled back mifepristone to rules adopted in 2000, which would have impacted access in some safe haven states like California, New York and Colorado. That ruling overturned another federal court order by a Texas judge that would have completely banned the sale of the pill.
Meanwhile, a Washington state judge allowed access to mifepristone to continue in 17 states, including Colorado.
Selina Najar from Cobalt, a reproductive rights organization in Colorado that provides funding for patients needing abortion care, says they are watching this legal battle closely.
The group says it has seen a 3,600% increase in the amount of practical support they are providing clients since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022.
“Two thirds of our clients are coming from Texas. So many of those folks are traveling here for care. In short, this Dobbs ruling has caused a health care crisis in this country,” Najar said.
Justice Samuel Alito ordered anti-abortion groups to respond to the Justice Department's appeal on Tuesday.
All eyes will be looking for the Supreme Court's decision Wednesday, particularly pharmaceutical companies, who could be greatly impacted by the unprecedented decision to overrule FDA authority and remove a drug from the market.
