Abortion pill restrictions filing Justice Department Supreme Court
The Justice Department is defending federal approval of the abortion pill mifepristone, including a recent move to make it available by mail.
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to maintain broad access to the drug most commonly used for medication abortions, arguing that restricting its availability would harm women across the country.
Both the administration and the drugmaker Danco filed briefs laying out their arguments in defense of several Food and Drug Administration decisions that, among other things, made the mifepristone pill available by mail. Danco makes the brand version of the pill, Mifeprex.
"The loss of access to mifepristone would be damaging for women and healthcare providers around the nation," Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote in the government's brief.
"For many patients, mifepristone is the best method to lawfully terminate their early pregnancies. They may choose mifepristone over surgical abortion because of medical necessity, a desire for privacy, or past trauma," she added.
Prelogar said the FDA approvals were supported not just by scientific studies but also by "decades of safe use of mifepristone by millions of women in the United States and around the world."
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