Supreme Court Upholds , FDA Regulation on Popular , Abortion Drug Mifepristone.
On June 13, the Supreme Court ruled against a group of doctors who challenged the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) regulations on the abortion pill mifepristone.
CBS reports that the case once again highlighted abortion access following the conservative majority decision to overturn Roe v.
Wade in 2022.
The court ruled unanimously that the group of anti-abortion rights doctors and medical associations lacked the legal right to challenge the FDA.
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However, the court also did not address whether the FDA's decision to relax the rules for mifepristone's use were lawful.
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The latest ruling was authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
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Under Article III of the Constitution, a plaintiff's desire to make a drug less available for others does not establish standing to sue.
, Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing for the court, via CBS.
Nor do the plaintiffs' other standing theories suffice.
Therefore, the plaintiffs lack standing to challenge FDA's actions, Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing for the court, via CBS.
CBS reports that the ruling does not impact other challenges to the FDA's standing on mifepristone, while preserving access to the popular abortion medication.
In 2016 and 2021, the FDA took steps to widen access to mifepristone, which has been taken by over 5 million patients since first being approved in 2000.
Those steps included allowing the drug to be taken up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy, reducing the number of in-person doctor visits and permitting it to be sold through the mail.
