SCOTUS Rules Anti-Abortion Group Lacks Standing to Bring Suit
WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 13, 2024 – Today, the Supreme Court ruled the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine lacked standing to challenge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone, one of two medications commonly used in medication abortion. While this is a welcome ruling for the reproductive rights community – especially because it means that medication abortion currently remains available – the opinion failed to address the lawsuit on the case’s merits, leaving the door open to future challenges from other parties.
Abortion access has become more precarious in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of federal abortion rights in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Twenty-six states have banned or are likely to ban abortion, causing disproportionate harm to women of color and disabled people. And as states continue to take action to ban abortion, more people are relying on telemedicine and medication abortion for reproductive health care.
Even before Roe‘s reversal, medication abortion accounted for more than half of all abortions in the U.S. Now, that number is 63% and likely growing. Had the Supreme Court ruled for the plaintiffs, it could have eliminated the availability of mifepristone, the most widely used drug for abortions, in ALL 50 states. This would have ended access to a proven safe and effective medication that is increasingly relied upon for abortion care, as well as for miscarriages and other health issues.
“While we are relieved that today’s Supreme Court decision means mifepristone remains available, this is a case that never should have reached the nation’s highest court,” said Jocelyn C. Frye, President of the National Partnership for Women & Families. “Although this ruling staved off a catastrophic outcome, the threat has been averted temporarily, not erased. As long as anti-abortion extremists undermine and imperil women’s bodily autonomy we will continue to fight for measures that center reproductive freedom, equity and justice.”
“In this opinion, the Court has done the bare minimum,” said Shaina Goodman, Director of Reproductive Health and Rights for the National Partnership for Women & Families. “The evidence is crystal clear: Mifepristone is safe and effective, with over 20 years of FDA approval based on an enormous body of scientific and medical evidence. We’re certainly pleased that mifepristone and medication abortion care remains available to people who need or want it. Still, ultimately, the decision to use mifepristone should not be up to judges or politicians with extreme political agendas, but rather individuals themselves who seek care.”
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