WASHINGTON—On Thursday, the Supreme Court in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, rejected an attempt by anti-abortion groups to block the Food and Drug Administration’s actions loosening restrictions on the abortion medication mifepristone. Though the Court decided the case on procedural grounds, the ruling means that access to mifepristone is preserved, leaving in place the FDA’s regulations for prescribing and dispensing the drug. Today’s unanimous ruling is the first time that an abortion case has come before the Supreme Court since its decision in Dobbs, which took away the constitutional right to an abortion, disregarding nearly 50 years of precedent. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and other prominent civil rights organizations filed an amicus brief in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, highlighting the significance of abortion access for Black pregnant people and people with low incomes.
The following is a statement from Adria Bonillas, Health Equity Counsel at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:
“The Supreme Court did the right thing today by rejecting the anti-abortion movement’s attempts to restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone, a safe, effective, and commonly used drug for over 20 years. In the wake of the Dobbs decision, access to mifepristone is even more critical for pregnant people, including Black pregnant people, who already face significant challenges in accessing reproductive health care. Preserving access to abortion medication is critical to exercising bodily autonomy and agency over one’s life.”
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law–The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to mobilize the nation’s leading lawyers as agents for change in the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Lawyers’ Committee uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real.
