Supreme Court hears Biden administration defense of abortion pill access
By Andrew Chung and John Kruzel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday began hearing arguments on whether to restrict access to the abortion pill as President Joe Biden's administration fights to maintain broad access to the medication in a major case that thrusts reproductive rights back on the agenda of the justices in a presidential election year.
The Biden administration has appealed a lower court's ruling that would limit how the medication, called mifepristone, is prescribed and distributed. Four medical associations and four doctors who oppose abortion brought the challenge to mifepristone in Texas.
The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) regulatory changes at risk in the case include allowing for medication abortions at up to 10 weeks of pregnancy instead of seven, and for mail delivery of the drug without a woman first seeing a clinician in-person.
Arguing for the administration, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the justices that the plaintiffs lacked the proper legal standing to bring the challenge and asked them to «put an end to this case.» Prelogar said the plaintiffs failed to show, as necessary, that they have been harmed in a way that can be traced to the FDA.
The plaintiffs do not come «within 100 miles of the kinds of circumstances» needed to show legal injury, Prelogar said.
The plaintiffs have said their member doctors will be forced to violate their consciences because they will «often be called upon to treat abortion-drug complications» in emergency settings due to what they call the FDA's unlawful actions.
Conservative Justice Samuel Alito, who authored the court's 2022 ruling overturning its 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent that had recognized a constitutional right to
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