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The Supreme Court, Medication Abortion, and the FDA: What’s at Stake?
In advance of oral arguments about access to medication abortion before the Supreme Court on March 26, KFF examines how a Court ruling for the plaintiffs would limit access to mifepristone blocking its use in telehealth and distribution through pharmacies, including in states where abortion is legal and protected. In addition, it could potentially weaken the role of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in drug reviews—something the Court has never done before.
As part of its explainer, KFF describes the issues at stake in the outcome of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM) v. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Danco Laboratories LLC v. AHM, and examines the lower court rulings that led to the Supreme Court taking the case, and the legal standing of the plaintiffs, who are anti-abortion organizations and doctors—and their claims. With medication abortion accounting for nearly two thirds of abortions in the U.S. and 16% of all abortions now provided through telehealth where abortion pills are mailed to the patient, the outcome of the case could limit access to medication abortion throughout the country.
KFF also explores the potentially far-reaching implications for the Court’s ruling on the FDA’s authority to continue to regulate a wide range of drugs, including those that could be perceived to be controversial today and in the future.
Additional KFF resources about medication abortion in the United States include:
- Legal Challenges to the FDA Approval of Medication Abortion Pills, which focuses on the major claims in the AHM case prior to an April 7, 2023, ruling in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
- The Availability and Use of Medication Abortion, which overviews how medication abortion is used and regulated as well as the role of the drug in self-managed abortions. The factsheet also analyzes the intersection of federal and state regulations related to medication abortion’s provision and coverage.
- KFF Health Tracking Poll March 2024: Abortion in the 2024 Election and Beyond, which explores voters’ preferences on abortion as a key voting issue