Abortion Pill Case May Head to Supreme Court

Danco Laboratories is asking for the Supreme Court to weigh in on a legal challenge to an abortion medication’s availability in the United States.

The small company manufactures mifepristone, a drug that has found itself as the center of a tense legal battle following the overturning of Roe v. Wade last summer. A ruling by the 5th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals earlier this year will significantly limit its use in America, and in turn could limit access to abortion in the United States.

Danco filed Friday to have the Supreme Court rule on the case, saying it was of “indisputable importance” to women’s health in America. The company also said the courts disputing decisions made by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could destabilize the pharmaceutical industry.

A panel of 5th Circuit judges ruled last month that the FDA did not properly assess the safety of mifepristone when it was approved to be used to terminate pregnancies in 2000. The drug is used alongside misoprostol to terminate a pregnancy. Medication abortions are the most common type in America, having especially surged after last year’s Supreme Court ruling.

If the appeals court’s ruling is upheld by the Supreme Court, or if it declines the case all-together, then access to mifepristone will be reduced. It would no longer be allowed to be prescribed via a telehealth appointment — used by many women who currently reside in states where abortion is restricted — and women would need to undergo three follow up visits with doctors while they use the medications.

The drug cocktail that terminates a pregnancy can be taken within the first 10 weeks. If the 5th Circuit ruling is upheld, that could drop to just seven weeks.

The appeals court’s ruling pulled back on the initial ruling by U.S. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in April. The federal judge, who is a known conservative firebrand, initially suspended access to mifepristone in the U.S. all-together.