The US Supreme Court ruled this Friday to allow the abortion pill used in the country remains widely available for women who want to use it, hard way defeat for the conservative sectors who tried to ban it and a triumph for the government of Joe Biden who promoted the action.
The high court on Friday blocked a decision by Texas-based U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk invalidating the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone, in fact that moment was a landslide victory for opponents of the drug. ‘abortion.
The court, which has a conservative majority of 6 to 3, issued a temporary stay on Kacsmaryk’s sentence, which was extended by two days on Wednesday as judges considered what steps to take.
Seven justices voted in favor and two (Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito) disagreed.
The decision means this women can still get mifepristone by mail order and take it up to 10 weeks pregnant, while the lower court litigation continues. The generic version of the drug, manufactured by GenBioPro, will also continue to be available.
The ruling on the drug comes less than a year after the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade’s 1973 law that allowed abortion nationwide, a decision that greenlit more than a dozen states to ban the procedure, amid great controversy.
This Friday is the most significant ruling on abortion since.
The drug got FDA approval in 2000, and conditions for its use have been relaxed in recent years, and it can also be purchased by mail order in states that allow it.
judicial and political battle
President Joe Biden’s administration and the drug’s maker, New York-based Danco Laboratories, were asking the country’s highest court to lift restrictions on the use of mifepristone imposed by lower courts in several states, including Texas. The argument was that women who want the drug and the suppliers who distribute it will face chaos if there are obstacles to buying the drug.
Separately, the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents doctors and medical groups opposed to abortion, defended the rulings by asking the Supreme Court to allow the restrictions to take effect.
The Court’s decision is part of a tough struggle between progressive and ultra-conservative sectorsworsened after the Court’s ruling last year, which limited the right to abortion, leaving the decision on the matter in the hands of the states.
In the aftermath of that ruling, and as the abortion landscape has changed dramatically in several states, pro-life groups have turned their attention to medical abortion, which accounts for more than half of all such procedures in the United States.
Against this background, opponents of abortion filed a lawsuit in November in Amarillo, Texas. The appeal came quickly to the Supreme Court after a federal judge handed down a ruling on April 7 that would revoke FDA approval for mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medical abortions.
Abortion has been virtually banned in 13 states: IDaho, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansa, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky and West Virginia, while others such as Georgia ban abortions at six weeks of pregnancy, at which time a woman is likely not know she is pregnant.
In other states there are legal battles to roll back the restrictions.
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Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.