The Supreme Court, in its decision on Thursday in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, ordered the lower court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of the abortion drug mifepristone because the plaintiffs did not have legal standing to sue.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the unanimous opinion.
The ruling neither vindicates the safety of mifepristone, nor addresses whether it should be available. It shows only the limits of litigation as part of the strategy to protect women and girls from this dangerous drug.
The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000, deeming it safe only under tight restrictions and close medical supervision. Only doctors could prescribe and dispense the drug, women could obtain it only in person from their doctor, and doctors were required to report all medical complications to the FDA.
These strict…
