Demonstrators rally in support of abortion rights at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on April 15, 2023. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
The Supreme Court today is expected to rule today on orders that could suspend Food and Drug Administration approval of a pill used in over half of abortions in the U.S.
Why it matters: If upheld, it would mark the first time a court has ordered an FDA-approved drug off the market decades after it has been approved.
- But the case could take a variety of turns, largely because the order would be a preliminary injunction. Even upholding it wouldn't completely resolve the underlying case, brought by anti-abortion groups over the FDA's approval of mifepristone, used for medication abortion.
Catch up fast: The decision will come less than a week after Justice Samuel Alito temporarily blocked new restrictions on mifepristone while the challenge to the FDA's authority plays out. The temporary stay expires at 11:59pm on Wednesday.
Don't forget: It's been less than a year since the high court overturned Roe v. Wade and justices said they should not be expected to further create national abortion policy.
- Alito at the time wrote that the court could not regulate abortion, adding that that power rested with the "people and their elected representatives."