April 14 (UPI) — The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily blocked a lower court’s ruling preventing access to mifepristone by mail, handing a victory to the Biden administration and abortion rights advocates.
In a brief order issued by Justice Samuel Alito, the court said the hold would remain in effect until midnight Wednesday so the court’s justices have time to consider their next steps.
Alito, who handles applications for emergency relief from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, gave a noon Tuesday deadline for both sides in the case to respond.
Earlier on Friday, the Biden administration and a manufacturer of pills used in medical abortions had asked the Supreme Court to block a lower court’s ruling that would bar access to the drug.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar called on the court to hold the entirety of a decision made by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who last week suspended the Food and Drug Administration‘s approval of mifepristone — a key part of a two-drug cocktail commonly used in medical abortions.
Writing on behalf of the FDA, Prelogar said the decision would unleash “regulatory chaos,” as labeling for mifepristone would be rendered inaccurate, forcing it to be adjusted through a possibly months-long process.
“The district court countermanded a scientific judgment FDA has maintained across five administrations; nullified the approval of a drug that has been safely used by millions of Americans over more than two decades; and upset reliance interests in a healthcare system that depends on the availability of mifepristone as an alternative to surgical abortion for women who choose to lawfully terminate their early pregnancies,” Prelogar wrote.
Danco Laboratories, which makes the Mifeprex brand of the pill, also filed a request to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying that upholding Kacsmaryk’s ruling would cause it to be “irreparably harmed,” rendering it “unable to both conduct its business nationwide and comply with its legal obligations.”
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled late Wednesday that mifepristone will remain available in the United States amid ongoing litigation but with considerable restrictions.
The appeals court said mifepristone could no longer be prescribed after the seventh week of pregnancy or dispensed by mail or by non-physicians.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Thursday that the United States would seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court, saying the Justice Department “strongly disagrees” with the Fifth Circuit’s decision to restrict access to mifepristone.
On Thursday night, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement that an injunction by U.S. District Judge Thomas G. Rice protecting access to mifepristone in Washington and 17 other states “remained in full force.”
“The restrictions imposed by the Fifth Circuit’s radical decision do not impair access to mifepristone in the 18 states that are part of our coalition,” Ferguson said.
“The Washington injunction is unmistakably clear: No changes to the status quo in our states — period. The Fifth Circuit’s ruling does nothing to change Judge Rice’s order, and that became even clearer today.”
The states covered in Rice’s order are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Washington state, along with Washington, D.C.