Dem
47
GOP
53
Late yesterday afternoon, the Supreme Court issued a brief order continuing its stay of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling striking down the FDA's loosening of restrictions on mifepristone. Access to mifepristone will remain available via telehealth and by mail while the case continues in the appellate court. The order doesn't include an explanation but in dissent, Associate Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas are very clear about their objections to the decision.
In fact, Alito says the quiet part out loud: This isn't really a states' rights issue. This is about states whose policies they agree with. "What is at stake is the perpetration of a scheme to undermine our decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 U. S. 215 (2022), which restored the right of each State to decide how to regulate abortions within its borders." And to him, that justifies denying women in every state the right to determine how best to access a safe and effective method of abortion care.
So, for now, mifepristone remains available without an in-person dispensing requirement. But the case is far from over, and the FDA, as a result of a bogus "review" of the decision to allow prescription via tele-health, could roll back those modifications on its own. Tellingly, the Trump administration did nothing to challenge the Fifth Circuit's order, and did not even file a response to the manufacturer's emergency application.
But at least for now, the Court has managed to avoid putting the abortion issue front and center for the midterms. Look for the FDA to magically complete its review shortly after November 4. (L)