Washington: The US Supreme Court on Friday blocked lower-court rulings that would place restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone.
Mifepristone is one of the medications used in half of all abortions in the country, while litigation proceeds.
A paragraph-long order by the US Supreme Court grants a stay on any restrictions, handing a victory to the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden and mifepristone’s manufacturer Danco Laboratories, which had appealed the lower courts’ decisions.
Biden in response issued a statement calling on voters to take the issue of abortion access to the polls.
“The stakes could not be higher for women across America,” he wrote, promising to fight “politically driven attacks on women’s health”.
“But, let’s be clear, the American people must continue to use their vote as their voice, and elect a Congress who will pass a law restoring the protections of Roe v Wade,” Biden added, citing a landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that protected the constitutional right to abortion for nearly half a century.
In June 2022, that precedent was overturned under the court’s current six-to-three conservative majority.
Reportedly, many Democrats and abortion advocates likewise hailed Friday’s decision, though they were quick to note it was a temporary stopgap while the court case over mifepristone’s availability continued.
“This fight is not over,” Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on Twitter. “Extremist Republican politicians continue to chip away at women’s rights to make their own health care decisions across the nation.”
Supreme Court’s decision is likely to leave mifepristone access unchanged at least until next year, as appeals continue to weigh its federal approval.