Takeaways from Supreme Court ruling: Abortion pill still available but opponents say fight not over

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the Supreme Court's unanimous decision to uphold access to the abortion drug mifepristone, despite ongoing legal challenges from anti-abortion groups.

🙋 Q&A

[01] The Supreme Court's Ruling

1. What was the key outcome of the Supreme Court's ruling on mifepristone?

• The Supreme Court unanimously upheld access to mifepristone, the drug used in the majority of U.S. abortions.
• The court found that the anti-abortion doctors who sued lacked the legal standing to do so, as they were not actually injured by the medication.
• The court did not address whether the FDA properly adhered to the law when it relaxed access to mifepristone, saying opponents could pursue those arguments elsewhere.

2. How did the court's approach aim to achieve a unanimous decision?

• Justice Brett Kavanaugh employed a minimalist approach in the opinion, seemingly designed to sidestep disagreements and arrive at a unanimous outcome.
• The court's ability to reach a unanimous decision was also made easier by the aggressive lower-court rulings that had embraced much of the abortion opponents' lawsuits.
• Kavanaugh delivered a rebuke in the form of a brief but pointed civics lesson, saying a federal court is "not a legislative assembly, a town square, or a faculty lounge."

3. What are the potential next steps in the legal fight over mifepristone?

• The lead attorney for the abortion opponents said she expects states who previously joined the lawsuit to continue the case, arguing that while doctors may not have legal standing, states do.
• Abortion rights advocates have also said they expect the push to restrict mifepristone to continue.

[02] Broader Implications

1. How does the ruling fit into the broader context of abortion rights in the U.S.?

• The ruling sidesteps immediate seismic political effects, but the issue will still be center stage this election year.
• Democrats warned that the ruling wouldn't end GOP threats to abortion rights, with Vice President Kamala Harris saying Trump's allies would still try to halt access to medication abortion and enact further restrictions.
• Abortion will also be directly on the ballot in at least four states where voters are being asked to approve constitutional amendments that would assure abortion access.

2. How does the ruling relate to other ongoing abortion cases before the Supreme Court?

• The Supreme Court is also expected to hand down a decision in the next few weeks on whether federal law protects emergency abortions in states with strict bans.
• The fact that the court didn't release a decision in the emergency abortion case along with the mifepristone case could signal that the emergency abortion ruling "is going to be a much more difficult decision."