Supreme Court to Decide FDA Role Over Mifepristone
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- Supreme Court is expected to rule on the mifepristone mail‑order pause by end of Monday, possibly extending the pause beyond the 5 p.m. deadline.
- Laurie Sobel of KFF said the core question is whether states can go farther than the FDA or if the FDA sets the regulatory floor for mifepristone.
- Janet Woodcock (along with Robert Califf and other former FDA commissioners) filed an amicus brief asserting the agency’s removal of the in‑person dispensing requirement was “extremely cautious” and based on sound science.
- Biogen (joined by Pfizer and Gilead) filed an industry‑wide amicus brief urging the Court to preserve FDA authority over drug regulation.
- Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine was found by the Supreme Court in 2024 to lack standing to challenge the FDA’s dispensing rules.
Why it matters: If the Court upholds FDA authority, abortion providers and patients keep mail‑order access to mifepristone, while states seeking stricter bans lose a legal lever and the FDA’s science‑based drug oversight remains intact.
