The supreme court decided on Friday to block a lower court ruling placing significant restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone.
The decision came in the most pivotal abortion rights case to make its way through the courts since Roe v Wade was overturned last year. More than half of abortions in the US are completed using pills.
The case was brought by a conservative Christian legal group arguing the Federal Drug Administration improperly approved mifepristone more than 23 years ago.
The Biden administration vigorously defended the FDA against the charge, emphasizing its rigorous safety reviews of the drug and the potential for regulatory chaos if plaintiffs and judges not versed in scientific and medical arguments begin to undermine the agency’s decision-making.
The case has moved quickly through the courts in recent weeks, as contradicting rulings have thrown the future of the drug into question.
In early April, a federal judge in Texas, Matthew Kacsmaryk, first ruled in the…
This article was written by Poppy Noor and originally published on www.theguardian.com