HARD TO SWALLOW

Appeals Court: Abortion Pill Can Remain on Shelves With Restrictions

The court’s decision will have no immediate effect on access to mifepristone and its generic equivalent as it is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court.

An appeals court on Wednesday agreed with a lower court that the federal government went too far in making mifepristone easily accessible, but stopped short of ruling that the abortion pill should be taken off the market altogether. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, made up of three conservative judges appointed by Republican presidents, ruled 2-1 that mifepristone and its generic versions should stay on shelves, with Judge James Ho, a Donald Trump appointee, arguing for it to be yanked entirely. All three judges moved to reverse the steps taken by the Food and Drug Administration since 2016 to relax regulations around the pill. The court’s tighter restrictions require in-person dispensal, rather than by mail, and prohibit access to the drug after seven weeks of pregnancy, rather than 10. The Wednesday decision is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court, and will have no immediate effect on mifepristone’s availability until the appeals process has played out. If the Supreme Court declines to take up the case, the appeals court’s restrictions will be imposed.