The Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it will take up a significant legal battle regarding the accessibility of medication abortions, particularly through mail-order. The court agreed to review appeals from the Biden administration and drugmaker Danco, which defend several Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decisions that made it easier for individuals to access and use the mifepristone pill. The Biden administration expressed support for the court's involvement, stating that a review of the lower court ruling is necessary to prevent outdated restrictions on safe and effective abortion medication.

MAGA Republicans lost elections on their extreme, unpopular agenda to rip reproductive freedom away from every woman in America. Now, they’re trying to use Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices to restrict access to safe, effective medication abortion.

As they attack…

— Jaime Harrison (@harrisonjaime) December 13, 2023

Danco, the company that manufactures the brand version of the pill known as Mifeprex, reiterated its confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the drug. The legal challenge arose from a group of doctors and medical professionals represented by the conservative Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom. They argued that the FDA unlawfully removed safeguards for women and authorized potentially dangerous mail-order abortions. Every court thus far has agreed with this assertion, and the group is urging the Supreme Court to do the same. It is worth noting that while the case does not directly address the right to abortion, it raises questions about the court's commitment to leaving abortion policy to the states and federal government, as they pledged to do last year.

The specific focus is on the FDA's process for approving drugs, particularly the agency's decisions from 2016 onward that expanded access to the mifepristone pill. These decisions included extending the window for its use from seven weeks to ten weeks of gestation, reducing the number of in-person visits for patients, and altering the dosing regimen. One potential outcome of the case could be the determination that the challengers lack the legal standing to bring their lawsuit. Additionally, the Supreme Court will also review the 2019 approval of a generic version of the drug, which is not the central issue at hand.

This legal battle is of great significance, especially considering the current landscape of abortion rights in the United States. With the Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn the landmark ruling of Roe v. Wade, conservative states have been enacting stringent restrictions on abortion, causing access to medication abortion, particularly through mail-order, to become critical. According to a survey conducted by the Guttmacher Institute, a research group supporting abortion rights, a majority of abortions in the U.S. are currently performed using medication. It is expected that the Supreme Court will issue a decision on this case by the end of June next year.