The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments in two combined cases regarding the Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of abortion drugs.
In Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. Food and Drug Administration, the court below—the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals—had concluded that the FDA’s decisions in 2016 and 2021 to drop the safety rules for obtaining and using mifepristone were unlawful.
The high court combined the appeals from the FDA and Danco Labs, the maker of a generic version of the drug, and will announce its decision in the case before its current term ends in June.
The FDA approved mifepristone, under the brand name Mifeprex, in 2000 under strict safety restrictions. It could be prescribed only by physicians with the requisite training to handle potential complications, and women had to obtain it in person. Doctors were also required to…
