Federal Appeals Court Hears Legal Battle Over Abortion Pill

The legal battle over mifepristone, one of two medications used to provide abortions and treat miscarriages, continued Wednesday when a federal appeals court heard arguments about access to the drug.

The lawsuit over mifepristone dates to November 2022, when a group of abortion rights opponents filed a complaint alleging that the Food and Drug Administration had acted improperly when it approved mifepristone in 2000 and later expanded access to the drug by loosening regulations and allowing it to be dispensed via telehealth. Mifepristone is now used in more than half of abortions nationwide.

Over the course of two weeks in April, the immediate future of access to mifepristone was thrown in sudden jeopardy when U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued a preliminary injunction undoing the drug’s FDA approval. Ultimately, the Supreme Court issued an emergency stay, allowing mifepristone to remain widely available.

Read the source article at npr.org