On June 13, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled to maintain current access to the abortion medication mifepristone. The date marks nearly two years since the Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned the precedent that had legalized abortion nationwide set by Roe v. Wade, leading 14 states to implement laws banning or severely restricting the procedure.
The justices voted to overturn the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2023 decision, which reversed the Food and Drug Administration’s 2016 and 2021 measures, broadening the prescription and distribution of mifepristone. Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the case in question, had the potential to limit access to mifepristone nationwide, even in states where abortion is still legal.
The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the plaintiffs, argued that the FDA should revoke its approval of the drug. However, during the March hearings, the Supreme Court decided opponents of abortion lacked legal standing to challenge the FDA’s approval of mifepristone or its subsequent measures to make the drug more accessible.
In a statement from the White House, President Joe Biden said women and healthcare providers are still at risk of legal consequences for receiving or offering reproductive healthcare medical services.
“Women are being turned away from emergency rooms, or forced to go to court to plead for care that their doctor recommended or to travel hundreds of miles for care,” the statement read. “Doctors and nurses are being threatened with jail time, including life in prison, for providing the health care they have been trained to provide.”
Mifepristone is one of two drugs used for the termination of pregnancies by blocking the production of progesterone, a hormone that prepares the uterus for pregnancy, during the first trimester. After receiving FDA regulatory approval in 2000, nearly two-thirds of abortions in the U.S. in the last year used the drug.
Mifepristone is used alongside another drug called misoprostol, which is used to treat ulcers but may cause premature births, birth defects or miscarriages in pregnant individuals. According to the FDA, mifepristone has been used by millions of people in the U.S. and globally for decades with studies showing that adverse events are exceedingly rare.
In April, former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, promised to reveal his administration’s plan for regulating abortion drugs if elected but he has yet to provide details. His campaign did not directly address this matter following the court’s decision.
In an interview with The Danbury Institute at a campaign event, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump supports states’ rights to decide on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and danger to the mother’s life.
“(Trump) has been very clear: he supports the rights of states to make decisions on abortion,” Leavitt said. “(He) supports exceptions for abortions in cases of rape, incest and life of the mother, and also strongly supports protecting access to contraception and IVF.”
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Erica Shekell, Planned Parenthood of Michigan communications director and Michigan State Senate Democratic Caucus deputy director of digital strategy, said she is concerned that standing and future cases could threaten reproductive freedoms and access to critical medications, even in states where voters have protected abortion rights.
“This case is going to continue, and there are so many other potential cases that could lead us back where we are right now,” Shekell said. “Are we going to lose access to these critical medications? Are we going to lose our reproductive freedoms even in states like Michigan, where voters overwhelmingly decided to protect abortion in our Constitution?”
LSA sophomore Natalie Wilcox said in an interview with The Daily she is worried about how Roe v. Wade was overturned with a progressive executive branch, signaling the potential for more conservative rulings in the future.
“Roe was overturned under Biden’s administration and was pro-choice, so that’s already not a great place,” Wilcox said. “With the potential of Trump being elected, two of the oldest Supreme Court justices are going to likely retire and then Trump (could) nominate two new Supreme Court justices who are going to be similar with conservative values.”
Law School student Ellen Chirikos, co-president of the University of Michigan Law School’s chapter of If/When/How, told The Daily that the ruling is unlikely to impact the current Michigan legislature but could lead to heavy demand for abortions performed in the state.
“The ruling itself, specifically to Michigan, probably won’t have too many effects because fortunately, thanks to the governor, abortion is accessible in Michigan and it’s pretty heavily protected,” Chirikos said. “However, the states that do provide abortion healthcare have been extremely overwhelmed because people are flocking from states that don’t. Clinics are not functioning properly because there’s too much of a need and not enough providers.”
Shekell also said she feels troubled by the Supreme Court’s ability to readdress and potentially overturn already established legal decisions, as was the case with Roe v. Wade.
“What’s frustrating is that a Supreme Court case can completely overrule something that we have already decided to do exactly,” Shekell said. “That’s what’s very scary about it.”
Summer News Editor Andrew Baum can be reached at asbaum@umich.edu.
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