Biden Salutes Ruling Keeping Abortion Pill Legal

Topline

President Joe Biden applauded the Supreme Court’s decision Friday to shoot down a lower court’s ruling that would have strictly limited access to the abortion drug mifepristone while a case challenging the drug’s approval makes its way through the courts, marking a rare legal victory for abortion rights activists at the nation’s highest court given its heavily conservative lean recently.

President Joe Biden puts on his sunglasses as he speaks before signing an executive order in the … [+] Rose Garden of the White House on Friday in Washington. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

Biden called the decision a rightful blow to “politically-driven attacks on women’s health,” while vowing to “continue this fight in the courts.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling Friday blocked a controversial decision from District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk to essentially pull mifepristone from the market, with Kacsmaryk stating the Food and Drug Administration should have never approved the drug.

Numerous Democratic lawmakers, like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) also echoed support shortly after the ruling was announced, along with pro-abortion rights groups like the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Contra

Republicans, on the other hand, appeared to have a muted response—top figures like former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the party’s congressional leaders did not swiftly comment on the decision. Anti-abortion groups like the National Right to Life Committee also did not immediately issue statements.

Crucial Quote

“The stakes could not be higher for women across America,” Biden said in a statement.

Chief Critics

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, with Alito arguing the plaintiffs—the Justice Department and pharmaceutical company Danco Laboratories—were “not entitled to a stay because they have not shown that they are likely to suffer irreparable harm in the interim.”

Key Background

The Supreme Court’s decision keeps mifepristone on the market indefinitely while the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals considers a case challenging its FDA approval status. The move comes at the end of a week filled with uncertainty over the future of the drug, after the Supreme Court made two earlier decisions that only paused restrictions on mifepristone for a few days at a time.

Biden Salutes Ruling Keeping Abortion Pill Legal—But GOP Largely Mum