Should the Courts Restrict Access to the Abortion Pill?: A Mock Trial
Open to Debate
In 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the federal agency that oversees the safety of food and drugs in the United States, approved mifepristone, a drug that can be used to terminate a pregnancy up to seven weeks of gestation. In 2016, the FDA extended the period to 10 weeks. Often referred to as an "abortion pill," mifepristone is used in 63 percent of all pregnancy terminations in the United States. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that the right to abortion was not protected by the U.S. Constitution, reversing its 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. In 2023, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, a group that opposes abortion, sued the FDA, arguing that the agency did not properly review the impact of mifepristone and that it should be withdrawn from the market. The FDA approved the drug without adequate consideration of its long-term health effects, the group contended, and failed to adhere to stringent regulatory standards. The FDA argued that it conducted extensive research and clinical trials on mifepristone and that approval should not be reversed without substantial scientific evidence. Mifepristone is essential for women's health, they contended, and provides a safer alternative to surgical abortion. The two sides argued their case, FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine before federal district courts in 2023 and before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024. Should the courts restrict access to the abortion pill?