The US Supreme Court has upheld access to a widely used abortion pill. The Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday came about two years after the court overturned the nationwide right to abortion. The judges now unanimously declared that anti-abortion activists do not have the right to sue against the approval of the pill mifepristone and the easier access to it issued by the drug agency.
The plaintiffs were unable to prove that they had suffered or would suffer actual or imminent harm, it said. Plaintiffs who may only have “general legal, moral, ideological or political objections” to the use of mifepristone have no standing.
Mifepristone is used in more than 60 percent of abortions performed in the United States. The drug was approved in the United States in 2000 and is considered reliable by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Mifepristone is usually used together with the drug misoprostol for abortion – but misoprostol can also be used alone. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the combination of the two drugs is somewhat more effective. In recent years, the FDA has issued several simplified access regulations for mifepristone. These include taking it up to the tenth week of pregnancy and sending it by mail within the United States.
At a hearing a few months ago, the Supreme Court had already expressed skepticism about the arguments of the plaintiffs, who wanted to achieve far-reaching restrictions on access to the pill before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has moved far to the right under former President Donald Trump. Only three of the nine judges are considered liberal. Almost two years ago, the court triggered a political earthquake when it overturned the nationwide right to abortion that had been in place for around 50 years. As a result, state parliaments can regulate by law whether and under what conditions abortions are permitted.
