Abortion Drug Conflict Reaches Supreme Court

In 2002, a conflict began over how the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the abortifacient (abortion pill) mifepristone. On March 26, 2024, the Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding the conflict.

On August 16, 2023, it was held by the Fifth Circuit that the FDA violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) when it dropped well established safety rules for those seeking to obtain and use the abortion drug.

Democrat Governors including Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer and 20 others are urging the Supreme Court to side with the FDA int his case.

The case was brought forward by Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine in order to challenge policies which seek to expand access to the drug mifepristone. These policies, which were issued by the FDA, have allowed the dangerous pills to be prescribed online, mailed to patients and dispensed at brick-and-mortar pharmacies.

Human Impact

One of the many dangers behind the abortion pill is that women may be given the pill based on their own estimation of where they are at in pregnancy, and if this is the case and the baby is too far along in the gestation period, it could result in the death of both baby and mother.

In addition to this danger, is when women come face to face with their deceased baby at home and are left with both the physical and mental carnage that comes from taking the abortion pill. This alone is causing a mental health crisis like no other.

According to Serena Dyksen, the founder of She Found His Grace when women take the abortion pill and don’t know what to do with their dead child’s body, they’ll call the abortion facility where they were given the abortifacient and are told to simply “flush it down the toilet” but for the women who cannot bring themselves to do so, they store their child in their homes, further fueling the mental crisis.

How Did We Get Here?

After the overturn of Roe vs. Wade which returned the right to determine abortion policy to the States, many conservative States either brought in legislation to protect life through heartbeat bills, or they previously had trigger laws that were initiated at the time of the unconstitutional abortion law being overturned.

At that time, many States sought to continue providing abortion to women by whatever means they could. The most convenient option? Abortion pills. Abortion providers wanted to keep making money after all, so instead of surgical abortions, they started handing out pills.

Conclusion

Many of those discussing this case have suggested that the Supreme Court will decide whether the abortion drug should be on the market and continue to be accessible. This, in and of itself, is a policy issue, however, it is not what the Supreme Court will be deciding.

That being said, this is an issue that involves both the courts and executive branch agencies. Which means, above all, this case is about whether agencies, like the FDA, who have the ability to make immense decisions that have the potential to impact the lives of Americans in very significant ways, are actually following the law.

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