The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned a nationwide order that prevented the Trump administration from enforcing a rule to regulate a pill commonly used in medication abortions so the rule can now be applied.
The Food and Drug Administration has said since 2000 that Mifeprex, a drug used during the first ten weeks of pregnancy, should be given to a patient by a health professional in a clinic, hospital or doctor’s office. The patient must sign a form acknowledging that she is aware of the potential risks of the drug. The patient can take the pill any time after receiving it and does not have to swallow it in the presence of the healthcare professional.
A group of doctors, led by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have filed a lawsuit to ease the restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. Medical offices and clinics have closed or restricted appointments, according to them, and if they require pregnant women to visit in person, they are exposed to an increased risk of infection.
Maryland District Court Judge Theodore Chuang agreed and ruled in July that maintaining FDA rule in the pandemic would pose a significant obstacle in the way of women seeking a medical abortion medication abortion may delay or prevent and thus may have a more urgent need. procedure. “Instead, he said, the pills could be sent by mail.
His order halted the application of the FDA rule nationwide, but the Supreme Court has now suspended the order so that the rule can be enforced.
Chief Justice John Roberts said it was not a matter of whether the law imposed an undue burden on a woman’s right to request an abortion. Instead, he said it was about the authority of a lower court to block rules during the pandemic. “The courts are significantly respectful of the politically accountable branches” with the background to assess public health.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote for herself and Judge Elena Kagan, said the majority of women who requested abortions during the first ten weeks of pregnancy relied on the medication in question.
“The FDA’s policy places an unnecessary, unjustifiable, irrational and improper burden on a woman seeking abortion during the current pandemic,” Sotomayor wrote.
Judge Stephen Breyer also said he would have left the hold on the application of the rule.
