This Common Abortion Pill Is Going to the Supreme Court — Here’s What You Need To Know

The major issue in the attack on abortion rights may be coming to a head. Today, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on mifepristone, one of two pills used in medication abortions, in a case that could have a massive impact on how patients access this essential medication.

The legal challenge to mifepristone comes from the Alliance Defending Freedom, an organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center calls a “designated hate group,” on behalf of four anti-artion organizations in Texas. Originally, their goal was to invalidate the FDA’s original approval of mifepristone, a decision that dates back to 2000.

A Texas district judge ruled in their favor in April, which would have removed mifepristone’s FDA approval, but the Supreme Court put that decision on hold while appeals took place. And sure enough, in August, an appeals court ruled against the anti-abortion groups’ call to overturn the drug’s original approval. The appeals court also upheld the FDA’s 2019 decision to approve a generic form of mifepristone.

So why didn’t the case end there? Well, the appeals court left a few doors open for the anti-abortion groups. Specifically, that court ruled that a few FDA decisions in 2016 and afterward, which increased access to mifepristone, should be put on hold because the actions “were taken without sufficient consideration of the effects those changes would have on patients.”

So, mifepristone isn’t currently at risk of losing its FDA approval, thanks to the appeals court’s decision. What’s up for debate now — and what the Supreme Court will rule on, likely next June — are FDA actions that made the medication more accessible. Currently, the decisions under threat include:

Essentially, if the Supreme Court decides to uphold that original ruling in favor of the anti-abortion groups, mifepristone will become substantially harder to get ahold of.

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“No woman should be unable to access the health care that she needs. This should not happen in America, period,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. The Biden administration and drugmaker Danco, which makes the brand version of mifepristone, will both defend the FDA decisions to the Supreme Court. Overturning these FDA decisions, Jean-Pierre stated, “threatens to undermine the FDA’s scientific, independent judgment and would reimpose outdated restrictions on access to safe and effective medication abortion.”

Mifepristone is one of two pills typically taken for a medication abortion. Mifepristone works to block progesterone, which stops the pregnancy from continue; the second pill, misoprostol, causes cramping and bleeding to empty the uterus, per Planned Parenthood. (Misoprostol alone can also be used to end a pregnancy.) Medication abortions account for more than half of all US abortions, according to Guttmacher.

So what happens now? Currently, access to mifepristone remains the same, and won’t change until a decision is announced. The Supreme Court hasn’t set a date for argument, per the New York Times, but will likely make a decision by late June 2024.

Before you go, read about these celebs who’ve spoken about their abortion experiences: