Good morning, Broadsheet readers! The National Portrait Gallery unveils an Oprah portrait, South Korean internet giant Kakao taps Shina Chung as CEO, and business should pay attention to SCOTUS's next major abortion case. Have a thoughtful Thursday!
- One to watch. In early 2023, the post-Roe political fight over abortion rights expanded to mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortion. Mifepristone, used in half of all pregnancy terminations in the U.S., was allowed to stay on the market as these legal challenges progressed.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that challenges the availability of mifepristone. A ruling is expected this summer.
This case takes up a narrower issue than the challenges that wound through the legal system earlier this year. Another case, which the court declined to hear, challenged the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the drug in 2000. The case the Supreme Court agreed to consider asks it to reverse a lower court ruling imposing restrictions on access to the drug. The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to hear the case.
The challenge to mifepristone's approval rallied the pharmaceutical industry, which recognized the risks to its multibillion-dollar business if partisan judges could reverse science-driven drug approvals. While the current case is less existential, pharma companies are still closely watching these restrictions on the drug and have joined the Biden administration in asking the court to hear this case.
While the question SCOTUS will consider in 2024 is narrower, it should still concern the business community. As the end of Roe has allowed near-total bans on abortion in 14 states, telehealth services have become even more critical to abortion access. Employers responded to the end of Roe by agreeing to cover travel costs for workers who must leave the state to terminate pregnancies, but medication abortion is, for many people, a more accessible option—even in states where abortion remains available.
Limiting the availability of mifepristone further restricts abortion and harms employees—issues that should continue to matter to employers.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_emmahinchliffe
The Broadsheet is Fortune's newsletter for and about the world's most powerful women. Today's edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.
