A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that mifepristone, one of two pills used in medical abortions in the United States, should not be prescribed after seven weeks of pregnancy or by telemedicine. This is a case that threatens to further limit the right to abortion in United States.
At the center of the legal dispute is the health authorization that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave 23 years ago to mifepristone, used in more than half of the abortions in the country.
However, a previous decision ordered by the Supreme Court means that this new judicial provision will not take effect immediately.
Mifepristone pills will remain on the market in states where abortion is legal and will be available via telemedicine and mail order, because the Supreme Court has already said that the drug and the regulations that make it accessible will stand for the time being.
In a 93-page ruling, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans sided with the plaintiffs who want to restrict the use of mifepristone.
The ruling is the latest twist in the dramatic case, which It is the most important legal battle over abortion since the Supreme Court struck down the 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent last summer. that protected the right to abortion throughout the country.
The appeals court ruling sets the stage for the Supreme Court to rule again on abortion. The Justice Department said Wednesday that it will ask the Supreme Court to review the ruling.
Wednesday’s appeals court decision, ruling in favor of cutting access to the drug and concluding that the pills can remain on the market, sets the stakes for the case to return to the judges. And it will likely shape the contours of what both sides will argue in the higher court.
Medical abortion makes up the majority of abortions performed in the United States.
Since the rollback of federal protection of abortion rights established by the Roe v. Wade ruling, abortion providers in states where abortion remains legal have relied on the availability of abortion pills to ease the burden on clinics. who have been inundated with patients from regions where abortion has been severely restricted.
Mifepristone is extremely safe and has a lower mortality rate than commonly prescribed drugs like penicillin and Viagra.
Keep reading:
– Supreme Court preserves access to abortion pill for now
– US organizations warn of the attack on misoprostol, the other alternative to abortion pills
– Majority of Americans Oppose Supreme Court Decision That Overturned Roe v. Wade
Source: La Opinion
