Anti-abortion activists hold signs calling for the Supreme Court justices to "affirm the decision of Federal District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk who suspended the Food and Drug Administration's approval of Mifepristone," in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, US, April 21, 2023.
President Joe Biden's administration is appealing a lower court's decision that would roll back US Food and Drug Administration actions in 2016 and 2021 to ease access to mifepristone. A ruling in favour of the plaintiffs could undercut federal regulatory authority over drug safety beyond just this medication.
The plaintiffs question the FDA's judgement, in part by pointing the Supreme Court in their written filings to the three studies published by Gynuity researchers in 2019 and 2021 as part of a project called TelAbortion, which evaluated the feasibility and safety of providing abortion drugs via videoconference and mail.
"So it's not surprising that if they have a question or concern they may go to an emergency department as many people in America do for much of their urgent healthcare," Grossman said.