Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine
Quick Summary
In Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the Supreme Court addressed the legality of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval and subsequent accessibility changes for the abortion drug mifepristone.12
The FDA first approved mifepristone in 2000. This drug, used with misoprostol, induces abortion by blocking progesterone and expelling the fertilized egg. By 2020, this combination accounted for over half of U.S. abortions.12
A legal challenge questioned the FDA's actions, arguing they were "arbitrary and capricious" and lacked sufficient safety consideration. However, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to sue, as their desire to make the drug less available to others did not constitute a sufficient basis for a lawsuit. The Court's decision affirmed the FDA's actions regarding mifepristone's accessibility.1
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