US Supreme Court temporarily safeguards access to abortion drug pending appeal

Washington, United States: The US Supreme Court on Friday temporarily safeguarded widespread access to a commonly used abortion medication by suspending limitations placed on the prescription by an appellate court.

The most major abortion issue to come before the nine-member court since it invalidated the constitutional right to the procedure 10 months ago received two conservative judges’ dissents from the ruling.

The lawsuit is a result of a Texas US District Court judge’s decision that would have outlawed the abortion drug mifepristone, which was authorised by the FDA in 2000 and is used in more than half of all abortions in the US.

An appeals court blocked a ban on the pill, but imposed tough restrictions on access, after which the baton was handed to the Supreme Court, where conservatives wield a 6-3 majority.

Opposition to the legal assault on the abortion pill is being spearheaded by the Justice Department, which argued that the initial judge’s ruling was based on a “deeply misguided assessment” of the pill’s safety.

Since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that enshrined the constitutional right to abortion for half a century, 13 states have banned abortion and it has been severely restricted in others.

Mifepristone is one component of a two-drug regimen that can be used through the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

It has a long safety record, and the FDA estimates 5.6 million Americans have used it to terminate pregnancies since it was approved.

Polls repeatedly show a clear majority of Americans support continued access to safe abortion, even as conservative groups push to limit the procedure — or ban it outright.

The conservative-dominated bench had been scheduled to issue a ruling by Wednesday — but it extended a stay freezing the lower court decisions for two days as it decided what to do next.

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