Company turns to the Supreme Court: dispute over abortion pill Mifepristone continues

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The company Danco Laboratories called on the country’s Supreme Court on Friday to investigate the substance of the case and lift the threatened access restrictions. This is evident from an accompanying court document. The case is said to be of immense importance to girls and women, health institutions and the states.

An appeals court imposed access restrictions on the drug in mid-August. These restrictions are not yet in effect as the legal dispute continues. The appeals court ruled that certain access relief measures issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2016 should be rescinded. These include sending the pill in the mail and taking it without a medical professional.

Mifepristone was approved in the United States in 2000 and is often used in combination with the drug misoprostol for abortion. However, misoprostol can also be used alone. The World Health Organization only recommends this if mifepristone is not available. According to the FDA, mifepristone is a reliable drug. Mifepristone can be sent by post and taken home.

Opponents of abortion had filed a lawsuit against the approval of the pill. A judge in Texas, appointed by then-President Donald Trump (Republican), subsequently suspended approval of mifepristone nationwide. This decision was seen as unusual because mifepristone has been approved for more than two decades and is considered safe. The case eventually ended up before the Supreme Court. It did not decide the case, but ruled that access to the pill should be maintained as long as the legal dispute continued.

The move by distributor Danco Laboratories could now help the Supreme Court hear the case on the merits. The New York-based company sells the pills under the name “Mifeprex.” The Supreme Court has a conservative majority and will reconvene in October after the summer recess. It is then decided which cases he will accept.

Since the national right to abortion was overturned by the courts and so that the parliaments in the American states can legislate whether abortions are allowed, mifepristone has gained importance. Many conservative states have all but banned or largely restricted abortion. That is why many pregnant women are prescribed the drugs via telemedicine, for example to the annoyance of opponents of abortion. (SDA)

Source: Blick