Supreme Court sets March 26 for abortion pill case
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The Supreme Court on Monday set March 26 as the date for oral arguments on how patients can access mifepristone for medication abortion.
Why it matters: It will come less than two years after justices ended federal abortion protections by overturning Roe v. Wade.
- The case also has major ramifications for the Food and Drug Administration's authority to regulate drugs.
Catch up quick: Mifepristone's manufacturer Danco Laboratories and the Department of Justice asked the high court in September to review a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
- That court found that the FDA didn't take into account safety concerns when it made mifepristone more easily accessible in 2016.
- Last week, the Biden Administration argued that the lower court's decision to curtail the drug would have "disruptive consequences" for women and the FDA if it's allowed to stand.
- The Supreme Court set aside an hour for arguments in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and Danco Laboratories v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine.
State of play: Mifepristone remains available under an order the Supreme Court issued in April, pending the outcome of legal challenges.
- The drug is banned in multiple states where abortion has been tightly regulated. Meanwhile, pharmacists in a handful of other states have started taking advantage of rules that allow them to prescribe and dispense mifepristone for medication abortion, NPR reported.
Another thing: Justices also decided to review a free speech case challenging the government's ability to communicate with social media companies over content moderation. It was sparked by what the government described as attempts to combat medical misinformation.
- The high court will hear oral arguments in that case on March 18.
