WAITING GAME

Supreme Court Delays Decision on Abortion Pill

Access to mifepristone, an abortion pill used by hundreds of thousands annually in the U.S., will remain available for use in the meantime.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday extended its order to block restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone until at least Friday—a signal that the court still hasn’t decided on the future of the drug’s FDA approval. In the meantime, mifepristone will remain on the market thanks to a federal appeals court, which temporarily blocked a far-right judge’s ruling to suspend the federal approval of mifepristone outright earlier this month. That judge, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, caved to anti-abortion groups assertions that mifepristone—a drug that’s been safely used by millions since it was approved by the FDA in 2000—was dangerous and should lose its federal approval. A dizzying legal battle has ensued, with the Biden administration and the makers of mifepristone sending an emergency application to the Supreme Court to keep the pill available while other lawsuits make their way through the courts.