SCOTUS Hears Mifepristone Appeal
The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) on Tuesday heard arguments regarding Pres. Joe Biden's administration's appeal of a lower-court ruling that limited access to an abortion pill known as mifepristone.
Facts
- The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) on Tuesday heard arguments regarding Pres. Joe Biden's administration's appeal of a lower-court ruling that limited access to an abortion pill known as mifepristone.1
- This is the first time the issue of abortion has come before SCOTUS since the justices overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.2
- A federal appeals court previously sided with anti-abortion doctors and medical groups after they challenged changes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made to make mifepristone more available in 2016 and 2021.3
- On Tuesday, the justices focused on whether the plaintiffs have standing in the case, questioning whether the doctors who are objecting to prescribing it are being injured.4
- A ruling is expected by June, but regardless of SCOTUS' decision, litigation on this issue is expected to continue.2
Sources: 1Reuters, 2The Hill, 3CBS and 4NBC.
Narratives
- Left narrative, as provided by MSNBC. It's absurd that physicians who have a right under federal law to refrain from performing abortions are asking the government to restrict any and all access to mifepristone. These medical professionals are not being injured, so they have no standing. If SCOTUS rules otherwise, it'll be another sign of how little the extreme-right justices value the freedoms bestowed by the Constitution.
- Right narrative, as provided by Daily Wire. Medical professionals have standing to sue the FDA on behalf of the unborn children who won't get to live if the FDA is permitted to make mifepristone so widely available. The FDA's weakened safeguards will also put women's health at risk and put doctors in precarious positions when forced to treat mothers who take mifepristone without professional guidance.
