Activists Are Still Worried After the Supreme Court’s Abortion Pill Ruling

Hi, it’s Fiona and Ella in New York. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled on the first major case on reproductive rights since it overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. More on that in a sec...

The future of medication abortions has been uncertain ever since a Texas federal judge moved to rescind the expansion of mifepristone approval last year. Mifepristone is one half of a two-pill regimen used to terminate a pregnancy. The ruling could have blocked access to the drug nationwide.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court preserved broad access to the abortion pill. In a unanimous decision, the court said that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug.

Anti-abortion groups — represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal group that helped drive the effort to overturn Roe — had sued the FDA, arguing that the agency acted unlawfully when it relaxed the rules regarding telemedicine and mail-order access, as well as the gestation point at which someone can take the drugs. They also said that the agency’s decisions forced doctors “to choose between helping a woman with a life-threatening condition and violating their conscience.”

The Justices said that the anti-abortion groups lacked legal standing for the suit because they aren’t directly affected by the FDA’s actions.