{"id":289215,"date":"2023-04-14T15:47:34","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T20:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=289215"},"modified":"2023-04-19T15:16:50","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T20:16:50","slug":"us-supreme-court-temporarily-abortion-pill-mail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/us-supreme-court-temporarily-abortion-pill-mail\/","title":{"rendered":"US Supreme Court extends allowing abortion pill by mail while weighing appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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UPDATE, 4\/19\/23:<\/strong> The Supreme Court has extended<\/a> its stay until end of day on Friday, April 21<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4\/14\/23:<\/strong> Just one day after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld<\/a> the suspension of the mail-order abortion pill (mifepristone) and required that the drug be dispensed again in person, the Supreme Court has temporarily paused that restriction as they weigh an appeal.<\/p>\n

Previously, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk suspended<\/a> the FDA\u2019s approval of mifepristone, which is used in chemical abortions. The Fifth Circuit Court responded with a 2-1 decision<\/a>, granting a partial stay to the FDA and Danco, which manufactures the abortion pill.<\/p>\n

The Biden administration, meanwhile, filed an emergency application<\/a> Friday morning asking the Supreme Court to intervene. \u201cIf allowed to take effect, the lower courts\u2019 orders would upend the regulatory regime for mifepristone, with sweeping consequences for the pharmaceutical industry, women who need access to the drug, and F.D.A.\u2019s ability to implement its statutory authority,\u201d the brief said.\u00a0Danco also filed<\/a> an emergency application, saying Supreme Court justices should defer to the FDA’s scientific expertise.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Poll: Most Americans distrust FDA\u2019s abortion pill approval process<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Justice Samuel Alito responded by granting<\/a> the government’s request for a stay, but only until Wednesday. He also requested an additional briefing by Tuesday. Ultimately, the Supreme Court decision will determine whether or not restrictions on the abortion pill will remain in place while the courts work.<\/p>\n

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which represented the plaintiffs in the case at the Fifth Circuit, explained<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn its decision, the 5th Circuit ruled that abortionists are no longer allowed to send chemical abortion drugs through the mail, which the FDA had been allowing since 2021, in direct violation of longstanding federal law. Additionally, in 2016, the FDA extended the permissible gestational age of the baby for which a girl or woman may take chemical abortion drugs\u2014from seven weeks\u2019 gestation to 10 weeks\u2019 gestation. The 5th Circuit\u2019s order moved that back to seven weeks\u2019 gestation, protecting the mother from adverse complications that increase with gestational age, reinstated necessary doctor visits, and brought back the requirement that abortionists must check women for complications after their chemical abortions.<\/p>\n

The 5th Circuit also agreed with ADF attorneys that the FDA\u2019s approval of generic mifepristone was unlawful, and that the manufacturer must cease production by Friday.”<\/p>\n