On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected a case that challenged the FDA’s right to regulate the abortion medication mifepristone. The ruling declined to limit access to the medication. “We recognize that many citizens, including the plaintiff doctors here, have sincere concerns about and objections to others using mifepristone and obtaining abortions,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh said in writing for the court. “But citizens and doctors do not have standing to sue simply because others are allowed to engage in certain activities – at least without the plaintiffs demonstrating how they would be injured by the government’s alleged under-regulation of others.” In the opinion, Kavanaugh also mentioned that the plaintiffs did not have standing as they didn’t have the necessary monetary or physical injuries. Kavanaugh also noted that federal law has established protections for individual health care providers who have objections to performing abortions for moral reasons.
According to the FDA, to become certified to dispense mifepristone, pharmacies must: (1) be able to receive Prescriber Agreement Forms by email and fax; (2) be able to ship mifepristone using a shipping service that provides tracking information; (3) designate an authorized representative to carry out the certification process on behalf of the pharmacy; and (4) ensure the authorized representative oversees implementation and compliance with the Mifepristone REMS Program, which includes, among other requirements, the completion of a Pharmacy Agreement Form.
