Joe Biden's administration hinted that it will seek to prevent states from banning a pill used to medicinally terminate pregnancy in the wake of yesterday's move by the US Supreme Court to overturn the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, foreshadowing a major new court battle.
The government will likely argue to the court that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of mifepristone-one of the pills used to medicinally terminate pregnancy-was preempted by state restrictions, meaning that federal authority trumps any state actions.
The same argument has already been used by Las Vegas-based GenBioPro Inc, which is selling a generic version of this pill in a lawsuit aimed at challenging Mississippi's state restrictions on medical termination of pregnancy.
Which states are planning universal bans
More than 12 states are planning near-universal bans on abortion following yesterday's Supreme Court ruling.
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday overturned the landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that recognized women's constitutional right to abortion and had legalized it across the country, giving a major victory to Republicans and religious conservatives who want to restrict or ban the procedure.
By a 6-3 vote of the conservative majority, the court upheld the Republican-backed Mississippi law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The justices ruled that the decision in Roe v. Wade that allowed abortions before the fetus became viable outside the womb - between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation - was incorrect because the U.S. Constitution makes no specific reference to abortion rights.
States will likely face other difficulties in trying to impose restrictions on medication to terminate pregnancy because women will continue to be able to obtain the pills online or from other states.
Outraged Biden
In comments after yesterday's decision, President Biden said his administration would seek to protect access to medication abortion and that efforts to restrict it would be "misguided, extreme and out of touch with the majority of Americans."
Attorney General Merrick Garland was clearer as to what his department is looking forward to, stating in a statement: "States will not be able to ban mifepristone based on disagreement with FDA experts' judgment about its safety and effectiveness."
Mifepristone was approved for use in abortion by the FDA in 2000, long after Roe v. Wade in 1973. The pill, known as RU 486, blocks the production of the pregnancy-sustaining hormone progesterone, while the other drug used - misoprostol - causes uterine contractions.
Even before yesterday's ruling, states were imposing restrictions on access to the pill. In 19 states, a woman is required to visit a doctor to obtain it, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.
The FDA does not require a visit from the person concerned.
Source: APE-MPA
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