Access to mifepristone will remain unchanged after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday in a case that reproductive rights advocates feared would make it harder for people to receive medication abortions.
The pill is one of two used for medication abortions, the most common form of pregnancy termination in Montana. Last year, in-person medication abortions accounted for 60% of abortions in the state. Mifepristone can also be obtained by telemedicine or mail, which accounted for 19% of abortions in 2023, despite efforts by the state Legislature to ban the practice.
Two years after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court, rescinding a general right to an abortion at the federal level, this case brought before the high court sought to challenge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, particularly its sanctioned use in pregnancies up to 10 weeks and the ability of patients to obtain it over the phone or by mail.
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Plaintiffs, a group of anti-abortion doctors and medical associations called the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, claimed the drug would send women to the emergency room due to adverse effects and that doctors could be forced to provide medication that would conflict with their religious beliefs.
Advocates worried the nation’s highest court would use this case to further curtail access to abortion. Justices unanimously determined the plaintiff could not prove it had suffered harm as a result of the FDA rules, partially due to existing medical conscience laws, which meant it did not have the legal standing to sue.
