Supreme Court Temporarily Extends Full Access to Abortion Pill
· Telemundo McAllen (KTLM)
The Supreme Court will maintain, at least until Thursday, women's access to an abortion pill while justices consider whether to allow restrictions on the drug, mifepristone, to take effect. An order issued Monday by Justice Samuel Alito allows women seeking to terminate a pregnancy to continue obtaining the pill at pharmacies or by mail, without an in-person doctor visit. For now, it prevents restrictions on mifepristone imposed by a federal appeals court from taking effect. The court is facing its latest abortion controversy four years after its conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing more than a dozen states to impose near-total bans on abortion. The case before the court originated from a lawsuit Louisiana filed to overturn the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) rules on how mifepristone can be prescribed. The state argues that the policy undermines the existing ban there and questions the safety of the drug, which was first approved in 2000 and has been repeatedly deemed safe and effective by FDA scientists. Lower courts concluded that Louisiana is likely to prevail, and a panel of three judges from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that mail access and telehealth consultations must be suspended while the case unfolds.
AI summary · Source: Telemundo McAllen (KTLM) →
