Latest ruling on pill shifts US abortion landscape again
A court ruling this week keeps an abortion pill available, clarifying the U.S. abortion landscape but not settling it
A federal appeals court has kept an abortion pill available, clarifying the U.S. abortion landscape but not settling it. The court's decision late Wednesday preserved but narrowed access to an abortion pill across the U.S. It was a major development in a fast-shifting landscape in flux since June, when the Supreme Court overturned the nationwide right to an abortion.
WHAT’S NEW?
The majority of abortions in the U.S. are obtained using a combination of two medications. Anti-abortion groups have been trying to limit access to one of them, mifepristone.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that the Food and Drug Administration’s initial approval of mifepristone in 2000 should remain in effect, overriding a district court ruling from less than a week before. Without Wednesday’s ruling, the drug would have been unavailable in at least some places starting on Saturday.
