The Comstock Act is the latest front in the fight over reproductive rights. Here's what you need to know about the 1873 law and the consequences if it's enforced the way some conservatives would like.
At issue in the case is more than abortion rights. It's the entire structure of the FDA's regulatory power to approve drugs and continually evaluate their safety.
The case could affect not just abortion access but oversight of the drug industry and the authority of federal agencies. The court hears arguments Tuesday.
Anti-abortion groups, attorneys general from 25 states and more than 140 members of Congress have signed on to dozens of briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court during the past two weeks, encouraging the justices to revert use and prescribing of the medication abortion pill mifepristone to what was in place prior to 2016.
CVS will start filling prescriptions for mifepristone in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Walgreens will start in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois.
The study looks at 6,000 patients who got abortion pills after an online appointment. It found that 99.7% of those abortions were not followed by any serious adverse events.
A research paper that raises questions about the safety of abortion has been retracted. The research is cited in a federal judge's ruling about the abortion pill mifepristone.
The court's action sets up a collision between the Food and Drug Administration's 23-year study and supervision of mifepristone, and the circumstances under which it can be prescribed.
A federal appeals court would restrict the use of mifepristone, a pill used in medication abortions. But previous action by the Supreme Court means the status quo holds for now.
Pharmaceutical sciences professor Chris Adkins was perusing news on his computer in December when he came across an item that fascinated him: Anti-abortion groups had sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to force a recall on a commonly used abortion drug.
The latest Gallup poll also finds increased political polarization. Some 60% of Democrats said abortion should be legal under any circumstances, compared with 8% of Republicans.
While a Supreme Court order continues to ensure the drug is still widely available, the issue returned Wednesday to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals as lawyers for both sides urged the court to act.
The lawsuit over access to the abortion pill goes before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday, the next step on a path that will likely end at the U.S. Supreme Court.