Two makers of the widely used abortion pill mifepristone asked the Supreme Court on Saturday to block an appellate court ruling that cut off mail-order access to the drug just a day earlier, in what was the biggest jolt to abortion policy in the U.S. since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Danco Laboratories asked the high court for an emergency pause on the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision, saying the appellate ruling “injects immediate confusion and upheaval into highly time-sensitive medical decisions.” GenBioPro, which makes a generic version of mifepristone, made a similar request. The appeals court’s unanimous ruling Friday marked a substantial victory for abortion opponents seeking to stem the flow of abortion pills prescribed online, which they view as subverting state bans. It requires that mifepristone be distributed only in person and at clinics, overruling regulations set by the federal Food and Drug Administration. “We’re now going to see, I think in a way we haven’t before, what the nation will look like when abortion bans are actually in effect,” said Mary Ziegler, an expert on abortion law and a professor at University of California at Davis School of Law. Here’s what to know: Impact extends beyond states with abortion bansFrustrated with a lack of federal action against medicated abortions, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill sued the FDA last year, saying allowing mifepristone to be dispensed through the mail undermined the state’s ban on abortions at all stages of pregnancy. Friday’s ruling is in effect while the case works its way through the courts. It affects all states, even those without abortion restrictions. “This is a huge access issue for patients that haven’t got providers close by, or providers close by who are willing to prescribe,” said Josh Thorburn, owner of Eddie’s Pharmacy in Los Angeles. There is little precedent for a federal court overruling the scientific regulations of the FDA, and it remains to be seen how the decision could impact how the drug is dispensed long-term. Murrill, a Republican, celebrated the ruling as a “victory for life” while other anti-abortion advocates cheered the reversal of rules finalized under President Joe Biden that ended a longstanding… [TheTopNews] Read More.
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