Supreme Court Justices Question Why Abortion Pill Suit Is In Front Of Them

The majority of justices appeared skeptical that an anti-abortion doctors association had the ability to sue to block the distribution of the abortion medication mifepristone.

Supreme Court arguments on Monday, regarding the legality of federal regulations allowing the distribution of the abortion drug mifepristone through the mail, hinged on whether the anti-abortion doctors association that brought the case had standing to sue in the first place.

The case, known as FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and combined with a similar case, centers on whether the Food and Drug Administration overlooked health and safety issues when it loosened restrictions around mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in medication abortion, in 2016 and 2021. The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000, and the medication has since been used by nearly 6 million people in the U.S., according to the department.

The case could roll back access to mifepristone, which is generally prescribed as part of a two-drug regimen alongside misoprostol for abortion and miscarriage care through 10 weeks of pregnancy in the U.S.

If the court sides with abortion opponents, mifepristone could be prohibited from being sent through the mail and distributed at large pharmacy chains, even in states where abortion is legal. A ruling for the anti-choice movement could also restrict the use of mifepristone from its current approval of 10 weeks to seven weeks, and end telehealth visits where abortion pills are prescribed.

During arguments, however, a majority of the justices appeared highly skeptical of whether the doctors organization Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine could even sue to begin with. Plaintiffs are required to show real harm in order to obtain standing to sue and, from the moment arguments began, the justices homed in on whether the group, and specifically the doctors cited as examples in its briefs, had proven harm.