Supreme Court Upholds Mifepristone Access, for Now

On Friday, the Supreme Court issued a stay on a lower court ruling. The stay ensures that, for now, the abortion pill mifepristone will remain widely available. Mifepristone was first approved as safe and effective for ending pregnancies more than 20 years ago.

But earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a federal judge in Texas appointed by former President Donald Trump, suspended the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit challenged part of Kacsmaryk’s ruling – leaving mifepristone legal, but making it harder to access. Friday’s decision by the Supreme Court halted those 5th Circuit Court restrictions and reestablished the status quo. But the decision is temporary. 

This is the first time the Supreme Court has taken action on abortion since overturning Roe v. Wade last year. But, because this was an emergency decision and not a full case, the Court did not provide reasoning, noting only that Justices Thomas and Alito dissented.

For more on this, we spoke with Leah Litman, Professor of Law at University of Michigan Law School and co-host of the Crooked Media podcast Strict Scrutiny.