Supreme Court preserves access to abortion pill for now
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday preserved women’s access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion, rejecting lower-court restrictions while a lawsuit continues.
The justices granted emergency requests from the Biden administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories, maker of the drug mifepristone. They are appealing a lower court ruling that would roll back Food and Drug Administration approval of mifepristone.
The drug has been approved for use in the U.S. since 2000 and more than 5 million people have used it. Mifepristone is used in combination with a second drug, misoprostol, in more than half of all abortions in the U.S.
The court’s action Friday almost certainly will leave access to mifepristone unchanged at least into next year, as appeals play out, including a potential appeal to the high court.
Justices Samuel Alito, the author of last year’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and Clarence Thomas voted to allow restrictions to take effect. No other justices commented.
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With Roe overturned, rollback of gay marriage and other rights fearedAP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File
The court legalizes abortion nationwide in the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
In photo:Â Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe in the 1973 court case, left, and her attorney Gloria Allred hold hands as they leave the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC., Wednesday, April 26, 1989.Â
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, FileThe court legalizes abortion nationwide in the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
In photo:Â Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe in the 1973 court case, left, and her attorney Gloria Allred hold hands as they leave the Supreme Court building in Washington, DC., Wednesday, April 26, 1989.Â
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With Roe overturned, rollback of gay marriage and other rights fearedAP
The court strikes down a Missouri law requiring a married woman to get her husband's consent for an abortion.
APThe court strikes down a Missouri law requiring a married woman to get her husband's consent for an abortion.
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With Roe overturned, rollback of gay marriage and other rights fearedAP Photo/Tom Reed
The court strikes down portions of a Pennsylvania law it said attempted to intimidate women into continuing pregnancies by, among other things, requiring them to be told the risks associated with abortion.
AP Photo/Tom ReedThe court strikes down portions of a Pennsylvania law it said attempted to intimidate women into continuing pregnancies by, among other things, requiring them to be told the risks associated with abortion.
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With Roe overturned, rollback of gay marriage and other rights fearedAP Photo/Rick Bowmer
The court declines to overrule Roe but allows more state regulation of abortion.
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With Roe overturned, rollback of gay marriage and other rights fearedAP Photo/Doug Mills
The court reaffirms its decision in Roe and says states can't ban abortion before viability, the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb, around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
AP Photo/Doug MillsThe court reaffirms its decision in Roe and says states can't ban abortion before viability, the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb, around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
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With Roe overturned, rollback of gay marriage and other rights fearedAP Photo/Dave Weaver
The court strikes down a Nebraska law that barred an abortion procedure used during the second trimester of pregnancy. The law didn't have an exception to the ban for the health of the pregnant woman.
AP Photo/Dave WeaverThe court strikes down a Nebraska law that barred an abortion procedure used during the second trimester of pregnancy. The law didn't have an exception to the ban for the health of the pregnant woman.
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With Roe overturned, rollback of gay marriage and other rights fearedAP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File
In a decision weakening Roe, the court upholds the 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act passed by Congress, which is similar to Nebraska's law.
AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, FileIn a decision weakening Roe, the court upholds the 2003 Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act passed by Congress, which is similar to Nebraska's law.
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With Roe overturned, rollback of gay marriage and other rights fearedAP Photo/Eric Gay
In its strongest defense of abortion rights in 25 years, the court strikes down Texas rules forcing clinics to meet hospital-like standards and doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
AP Photo/Eric GayIn its strongest defense of abortion rights in 25 years, the court strikes down Texas rules forcing clinics to meet hospital-like standards and doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
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With Roe overturned, rollback of gay marriage and other rights fearedAP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
A more conservative court strikes down a Louisiana law nearly identical to the Texas one it struck down in 2016.
AP Photo/Jose Luis MaganaA more conservative court strikes down a Louisiana law nearly identical to the Texas one it struck down in 2016.
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With Roe overturned, rollback of gay marriage and other rights fearedAP Photo/Stephen Spillman, File
The court declines to take emergency action and allows a Texas law banning abortion beginning at around six weeks to take effect.
AP Photo/Stephen Spillman, FileThe court declines to take emergency action and allows a Texas law banning abortion beginning at around six weeks to take effect.
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With Roe overturned, rollback of gay marriage and other rights fearedAP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
The court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years.
AP Photo/Jose Luis MaganaThe court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years.
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Supreme Court preserves access to abortion pill for nowJacquelyn Martin
The Supreme Court is seen, Friday, April 21, 2023, ahead of an abortion pill decision in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Jacquelyn MartinThe Supreme Court is seen, Friday, April 21, 2023, ahead of an abortion pill decision in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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