Abortion pill maker urges SCOTUS to maintain access to mifepristone

Danco Laboratories, which manufactures the abortion pill mifepristone, has asked the Supreme Court to ensure access to the drug amid an ongoing legal battle related to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's original approval in 2000.

"For the women and teenage girls, health care providers, and States that depend on FDA's actions to ensure safe and effective reproductive health care is available, this case matters tremendously," the company's attorneys wrote, per CNBC. "And for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, permitting judicial second-guessing of FDA’s scientific evaluations of data will have a wildly destabilizing effect."

A federal judge in April suspended the FDA's approval of mifepristone, asserting that the agency failed to adequately review safety risks before issuing its approval. Mifepristone is the most common method of abortion in the U.S. and is used in conjunction with misoprostol. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently upheld parts of the decision, which would limit access to the drug, though it remains largely available pending litigation.

The Supreme Court has already granted a stay, preserving access to mifepristone while the case makes its way through the court system. The 5th Circuit ruling, should it take effect, would bar prescription of the drug without an in-person doctor visit and prevent its shipment by mail, Reuters reported. It would further reverse guidelines permitting the drug's use at 10 weeks of pregnancy instead of the prior seven.

Danco's Friday filing is an appeal of that ruling. Jessica Ellsworth, who represents the firm, insists that the 5th Circuit issued its restrictions "at the request of a group of plaintiffs who do not prescribe or use the drug and whose real disagreement with FDA is that they oppose all forms of abortion."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.