The latest victory for abortion rights: the supreme court declined to reinstate restriction for patients seeking to obtain a drug used for early pregnancy abortions. With COVID-19 continuing to ravage through the country, the Supreme Court allowed a blocking of FDA rules requiring an in-person visit with a medical professional to pick up mifepristone, the drug in question which is the first of two drugs taken to terminate pregnancies less than 10 weeks. The ACLU argues on behalf of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that the FDA rules served no purpose and forced women to face unnecessary risks with added trips to the doctor during the pandemic. Mifepristone is the only medication that the FDA forced patients to pick up in clinic, despite the fact that women can take the pill without supervision. This comes as a blow to the Trump administration, as he asked the supreme court to reinstate this rule earlier in the year despite the pandemic. However, this is likely a short-lived victory. This is not a definitive ruling and will likely return to the Supreme Court once Judge Amy Barrett presides on the bench given that she successfully is confirmed.
Vogue, Ariane de, and Caroline Kelly. “Supreme Court Won’t Require in-Person Dispensing of Abortion Drug for Now.” CNN, Cable News Network, 12 Oct. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/10/08/politics/supreme-court-abortion-fda/index.html.