The future of a widely used abortion drug at the centre of the nation’s biggest legal battle over abortion rights since the end of Roe v Wade could be in the hands of the US Supreme Court.
Justices on the nation’s highest court will weigh in on a case targeting the federal government’s 23-year-old approval of mifepristone, part of a two-drug protocol for medication abortion, the most common form of abortion in the US.
Following an appeal from the Biden administration and drugmakers, the court paused a lower court ruling that would strip the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, which was first approved by the government agency in 2000.
The Supreme Court’s order expires at midnight on Friday, and the justices are expected to issue a decision in the case before then, but the latest pause ensures that the drug can still be accessed, for now.
It is unclear how the Supreme Court will rule on the appeal, but a ruling to strike down the FDA’s approval of the drug could drastically impact access to abortion and miscarriage care for millions of Americans across the country, including in states where it is legally protected, and
