United States: Biden administration to take action to the Supreme Court to protect the abortion pill

Europe 1 with AFP 18:50 p.m., April 13, 2023

The future of the abortion pill in the United States will be decided before the Supreme Court: the Biden administration announced Thursday that it would seize the temple of law to challenge the restrictions on access to this pill, decided a few hours earlier by an appeals court. Three visits to the doctor, an authorization limited to the first seven weeks of pregnancy, a ban on sending the pill by mail... A panel of three judges based in the conservative South set strict conditions Wednesday night for the distribution of mifepristone.

With potentially immense consequences on access to abortion: combined with another pill, mifepristone, is used for more than half of abortions in the United States. The government will "defend the scientific judgment" of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that has authorized the abortion pill for more than 20 years, said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.

'Unprecedented'

At the origin of this judicial saga: the decision last week of a judge, known for his ultraconservative views, who had withdrawn his marketing authorization. Despite scientific consensus, it considered that mifepristone posed risks to women's health and suspended its authorization for the entire United States. He had set aside a one-week delay before his decision would take effect, to give the federal government time to appeal.

The administration of Democratic President Joe Biden had asked a New Orleans appeals court to intervene to block the "extraordinary and unprecedented" judgment of Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, appointed by Donald Trump, "pending the substantive review" of the case. In its appeal, the government recalled that more than 5 million women have used mifepristone, combined with another pill, since its authorization by the FDA in 2000. When taken correctly, serious side effects are extremely rare, he argued.

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Conservative Supreme Court

But the appeals court's decision did not agree with the Biden administration, as it severely limited access to the pill. The Supreme Court, dominated by conservatives since its reshuffle by Donald Trump, is therefore called upon to decide. This is the same institution that had canceled last June the constitutional protection of abortion, causing its prohibition in fifteen states. The future of this stamp is therefore very uncertain.

Meanwhile, a coalition of Democratic states went to another court in late February to try to preserve the pill. Less than an hour after the decision of Judge Kacsmaryk, one of his colleagues, Judge Thomas Rice, appointed by Barack Obama and sitting in the state of Washington, had ruled that mifepristone was "safe and effective" and had prohibited the FDA from withdrawing its approval in the 17 states at the origin of the appeal.