On April 21, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court halted a Texas District Court ruling that banned the abortion drug mifepristone from the market nationwide. The order ensures that mifepristone will remain accessible in states where it is lawful to prescribe while an appeal to the Texas court ruling continues.
As background, mifepristone is one of two pills used in conjunction to initiate a medication abortion. In 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone, requiring that it be dispensed in person. In 2016, the FDA updated its approval to allow greater accessibility (e.g., no longer requiring in-person follow-up appointments) as well as to broaden its usage (e.g., increasing the period of use to 10 weeks’ gestation and allowing non-physician providers to administer the drug).
In November 2022, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine sued the FDA over mifepristone, and on April 7, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas imposed a nationwide injunction revoking the FDA’s drug approval. The Biden administration immediately appealed the ruling.
The Supreme Court order means that while litigation continues, the drug will remain widely available in states where it is legal to use up to the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The case now returns to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which is scheduled to hear oral arguments on May 17, 2023. The case will likely require the Supreme Court to weigh in at a later date.
