Abortion pill access could still face challenges after Supreme Court decision
Anti-abortion groups show no signs of backing off their legal fight to restrict access to abortion pills even after Thursday’s Supreme Court victory kept the pills available in 36 states.
Anti-abortion groups show no signs of backing off their legal fight to restrict access to abortion pills even after Thursday’s Supreme Court victory kept the pills available in 36 states.
The court’s ruling, while unanimous, was also somewhat limited. The justices agreed that anti-abortion doctors did not have legal standing to sue the Food and Drug Administration over actions it has taken in recent years making it easier to get mifepristone, one of two pills involved in a medication abortion.
That ruling does little to slow the broader movement to restrict access.
Three states plan to pursue a case in federal district court to make the pills harder to obtain. Reproductive rights lawyers also anticipate efforts on behalf of anti-abortion activists or legislators to revive a 151-year-old federal law that might prohibit sending abortion pills through the mail. Other abortion access advocates predict that a second Trump administration would lead to similar restrictions.
The “trend of pushing back against women’s health and reproductive care is not going to stop just because of this case,” said Clara Spera, senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center.
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