2023-04-21 23:02:39
In a long-awaited decision in the United States, handed down on Friday April 21, the American Supreme Court has chosen to maintain access to the abortion pill mifepristone, used for more than half of voluntary abortions. in the country, suspending restrictions decided by lower courts. Only two conservative judges of the Court, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, expressed their disagreement with the decision taken by the majority of the nine judges of the college.
The highest court of the United States had first planned to rule on Wednesday on the fate of the abortion pill in the country, but she had postponed her decision for two days, thus temporarily extending full access to the stamp.
By her decision on Friday, she notably blocked the judgment of a federal magistrate in Texas, known for his Christian faith, his ultra-conservative positions and appointed by Donald Trump, when he was in the White House. This judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, withdrew the marketing authorization for mifepristone on April 7, after being seized by anti-abortion activists. Despite the scientific consensus, he felt that it posed risks to women’s health.
The decision of the Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, means in particular that the measures taken to facilitate access to mifepristone will remain in place – its receipt by post, among others – in the States where abortion remains legal, while the appeals will be considered, which could take months.
Five million American women have used the drug
US President Joe Biden has promised to continue to fight against the “political attacks on women’s health” after the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday, pending a position on the merits of the case. “The stakes couldn’t be higher for women across America”Mr. Biden added in a statement.
It is the most important decision of the Supreme Court on the question of abortion since it canceled the constitutional guarantee to abortion in June 2022. Less than a year later, it had been seized urgently by Joe Biden’s government after conflicting court rulings regarding nationwide access to mifepristone.
After the judgment of the Texas magistrate, a court of appeal, seized by the federal government, then allowed the abortion pill to remain authorized, but by limiting the access facilities granted by the American drug agency, the FDA, over the years. His judgment amounted to prohibiting the mailing of mifepristone and returning to use limited to seven weeks of pregnancy, instead of ten.
The federal government then rushed to the Supreme Court. The latter temporarily maintained access to the abortion pill on April 14, suspending the decision of the court of appeal in order to have more time to examine the file.
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Further complicating the matter, a federal judge sitting in the State of Washington, appointed by Barack Obama, had estimated, just after the decision of his colleague in Texas, that mifepristone was “safe and effective” and had prohibited the FDA from withdrawing its approval in seventeen states and in the capital.
“Good news but…”
America’s top family planning organization has welcomed the temporary retention of the abortion pill. “This is good news but the facts remain the same: access to mifepristone should never have been threatened in the first place”, reacted Planned Parenthood on Twitter.
The abortion pill is different from the “morning after pill”. While the latter is taken after a risky report to avoid getting pregnant, the abortion pill is taken once a pregnancy is confirmed, in order to abort. In combination with another drug, mifepristone has already been used by more than five million American women since its approval by the FDA more than twenty years ago. It is no longer officially available in some fifteen American states that have recently banned abortion, even if roundabout ways have been developed. The impact of restrictions or a ban on this pill would therefore primarily concern states where abortion remains legal – many of them are Democrats.
The legal battle around the abortion pill will therefore continue, unleashing strong passions. The next step will be a hearing in a federal appeals court in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 17.
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