By Canadian Press

As Supreme Court readies decision, White House vows to keep defending abortion rights

Apr 19, 2023 | 12:06 PM

WASHINGTON — The White House is vowing to continue to defend abortion rights in the United States, regardless of what the Supreme Court decides. 

The high court is expected to issue an interim decision today on a legal stalemate over the abortion drug mifepristone.

Two different federal judges issued contradictory rulings almost simultaneously earlier this month on whether or not the drugs should be available in the U.S. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says whatever the Supreme Court decides, President Joe Biden will continue to fight for a woman’s right to choose. 

It’s the second time in less than a year that the conservative-dominated court has delivered a major ruling on abortion rights. 

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Last June, the court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that effectively codified a woman’s right to an abortion anywhere in the U.S.

“We are prepared for any outcome the Supreme Court may issue, and we are prepared for a long legal fight if necessary,” Jean-Pierre told the daily briefing. 

“The stakes could not be higher, and we are going to continue to fight.”

The controversy over mifepristone erupted April 7 after a pair of federal court decisions that came out within an hour of each other.

First, a judge in Texas issued an order invalidating the Food and Drug Administration’s approval in 2000 of mifepristone, part of an ongoing lawsuit in that state challenging the drug’s safety and the process used to approve it. 

Almost simultaneously, in a separate case, a federal court judge in Washington state ordered that the government make the drug more readily accessible to those who need it.

The dispute, coming as it does after the decision to overturn Roe, has prompted widespread concerns across the U.S. about the availability of the single most common means of procuring an abortion. 

A number of states where abortion remains legal have in the meantime been stockpiling the drug in the event it suddenly becomes unavailable. 

A flurry of amicus briefs filed by Big Pharma stakeholders and legal scholars alike have framed the original Texas ruling as a devastating blow to the federal government’s ability to protect and nurture its citizens.

It “would disrupt the stability of the nation’s market for medical treatment” and allow “limitless litigation” against FDA decisions, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America argued in their brief.

“That prospect of expansive litigation would undermine incentives for the biopharmaceutical industry’s investments in drug discovery and development.”

More than half of all abortions that are performed in the U.S. are induced through medication, typically mifepristone paired with another medication, misoprostol. The two drugs are sold together in Canada as Mifegymiso.

Medical experts insist mifepristone, which was approved for use 23 years ago, is safe and less prone to complications than basic procedures such as wisdom teeth removal and colonoscopies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

The Canadian Press