Supreme Court poised to rule on nationwide partial ban of abortion pill mifepristone

The Supreme Court was poised Friday to rule on a partial ban on the most widely used abortion medication that would cover the entire nation, including pro-choice New York.

The top court was racing against a midnight deadline to decide whether to extend an appeals court’s ruling barring sending mifepristone by mail and banning its use after seven months of pregnancy.

The justices could also put the ruling on hold pending more litigation, or make some surprise decision.

The Supreme Court had initially said it would decide by Wednesday night whether the restrictions could take effect while the case continues.

A one-sentence order signed by Justice Samuel Alito on Wednesday gave the entire court two additional days, but did not offer any more clues to its plans.

If the court does impose additional temporary or permanent restrictions on mifepristone, they would apply to the entire nation, including in New York and other states that have enacted protections on women’s right to choose.

That will likely stir renewed political debate over abortion just as the 2024 presidential contest is getting started.

The challenge to mifepristone is the first abortion controversy to reach the nation’s highest court since its conservative majority overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade in a highly controversial decision less than a year ago.

After that victory, pro-life advocates returned to federal court aiming to ban medication abortions, which make up more than half of all abortions in the United States.

Mifepristone repeatedly been found to be safe and effective, and has been used by more than 5 million women in the U.S. since the FDA approved it in 2000.

But abortion opponents won a ruling on April 7 by District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, revoking FDA approval of mifepristone.

A panel of the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put the total ban on hold but ruled most of the ruling could take effect while the case winds through federal courts.

The court also said that the drug can’t be mailed and that patients who seek it need to make three in-person visits with a doctor. It will only be permitted for women who are less than seven weeks pregnant, compared to the previous 10 weeks.

The Biden administration and pill maker Danco have said that chaos will result if those restrictions take effect while the case proceeds.