While experts and advocacy groups to not restrict nationwide access to the abortion pill mifepristone, they warn access to medication abortion remains at risk -- as does the very foundation of the Food and Drug Administration's regulation of all medications. The court unanimously struck down a lawsuit seeking to restrict nationwide access to mifepristone, one of the two pills used in an abortion medication regimen. The court ruled that a group of doctors have no grounds to bring the lawsuit that sought to roll back the FDA's approval of mifepristone.
While it is only recommended for up to 11 weeks of pregnancy, the abortion pill regimen is the least expensive form of abortion care and has become the most common form of abortion care in the U.S. Medication abortion accounted for 63% of U.
S. abortions in 2023, according to a study from the Guttmacher Institute in March, and its use is growing. Medication abortions accounted for just 53% of all abortions in the U.
S. in 2020, according to Guttmacher, a research and policy group that advocates for reproductive health. Women in states where abortion care has ceased or is restricted can still access the pills by mail under Thursday's ruling -- the biggest impact from the Supreme Court's decision.
"The idea of limiting access to mifepristone will just further exacerbate disparities that we're already seeing in terms of reproductive health care," said Dr. Reshma Ramachandran, a family physician, health services researcher and assistan.
