Supreme Court to Decide Fate of Access to Abortion Pill Mifepristone
TimeMAR 23 2024
SCOTUS Hears Mifepristone Appeal
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The Facts
The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) on Tuesday heard arguments regarding Pres. Joe Biden's administration's appeal of a lower-court ruling that limited access to an abortion pill known as mifepristone.
This is the first time the issue of abortion has come before SCOTUS since the justices overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
A federal appeals court previously sided with anti-abortion doctors and medical groups after they challenged changes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made to make mifepristone more available in 2016 and 2021.
The Spin
Left narrative
It's absurd that physicians who have a right under federal law to refrain from performing abortions are asking the government to restrict any and all access to mifepristone. These medical professionals are not being injured, so they have no standing. If SCOTUS rules otherwise, it'll be another sign of how little the extreme-right justices value the freedoms bestowed by the Constitution.
Right narrative
Medical professionals have standing to sue the FDA on behalf of the unborn children who won't get to live if the FDA is permitted to make mifepristone so widely available. The FDA's weakened safeguards will also put women's health at risk and put doctors in precarious positions when forced to treat mothers who take mifepristone without professional guidance.
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